Causing Me Pain
by haveyouseenmyhaggis
Summary: Owen's life completely changed when he met her. Then he went through hell to try and protect her nearly losing his own life on the way. Who knew the Master would be able to cause him so much pain… Owen's POV.
1. The Swarm

**Title: Causing Me Pain**

**Summary: Owen's life completely changed when he met her. Then he went through hell to try and protect her nearly losing his own life on the way. Who knew the Master would be able to cause him so much pain… Owen's POV. **

**Author's Note: This is a stand-alone story but can also be seen as Owen's version of **_**Steps Into The Unknown. **_**And I have loads of this written because I've been lying down all weekend after tripping over thin air and spraining my ankle. Typical me, huh? Anyway. Enjoy. Next chapter will be up tomorrow. Promise.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Torchwood. **_

* * *

Looking back, I remember thinking that it would just be another case – typical of Torchwood but now it seems like so much more.

I'm sitting in a hospital now, holding her hand and I can't think what to do. I don't know what to say anymore and I'm scared. I can't lose her! I know I've only known her a matter of months but I still can't imagine my life without her. She really showed me how to live again and I'm so grateful.

How did it start? How did I meet her? I've got nothing to do right now but think over the last few months' events...

* * *

I was in the Torchwood SUV with Jack at seven thirty in the morning and I wasn't exactly happy about it. I'd been hoping for a quiet day to catch up on all the paperwork I hadn't had time to do over the last few days. We'd been busy with one thing or another so everything in the Hub had come to a bit of a standstill.

That morning the Hub computers had picked up a rift spike centring on one specific area; a little house in a village just outside Cardiff city.

It didn't take long to get there and before I knew it Jack had parked the SUV in the middle of the road in typical Torchwood style. We both jumped out and we headed towards a house with a little blue car outside it. I knocked but there was no reply.

"Just go in," Jack said firmly. I nodded and opened the door. Suddenly a man appeared in front of us looking curious. I heard Jack gasp beside me and I from him to the man in the pinstriped suit. The other man had dark brown hair and eyes. He had an air of authority about him and I could tell he was here for the same reason as we were.

"Doctor!" Jack breathed, a grin now on his face.

"Jack," the other man said with a smile, "I wondered if I'd be seeing you around here."

"You know each other?" I asked curiously. Could this be the doctor that Jack sometimes mentioned?

"Yes we do," Jack said, "Owen, this is the Doctor."

The Doctor gave me a small wave before turning to go back into the kitchen. Jack and I followed on. I instantly noticed the big plastic box on the floor. The lid was slightly ajar and I peered inside.

My mouth fell open slightly as I saw them. There was little round sort of ball things. Lame description I know but that's pretty much what it was. They were green and just sat there oozing slime. They only had one eye and I winced. They were pretty disgusting.

"The Swarm," The Doctor explained when he saw me looking curiously at them.

"Ah…" I said as I stood up and leaned against the fridge. The Doctor quickly explained that he'd found them in the basement of this house. They were little baby space vampires or something. He said the resident, Lia, was upstairs. There'd been an incident in the basement when she'd touched one of the creatures. Apparently she'd gone through some sort of shape shift and ended up being like an adult Swarm thing. Poor girl.

It wasn't long before she showed up in the kitchen too. She blinked and stared at us for a moment – probably wondering why the hell Jack and I were in her house. I felt my heart speed up slightly when she looked at me. Damn she was hot. Lia was slightly shorter than me and had chestnut brown hair and big green eyes.

"Hiya Lia," Jack said with a warm smile reaching out to shake her hand, "Captain Jack Harkness."

"Owen Harper," I said nodding at her.

"Hi," she said, blushing slightly.

"So, the Doctor tells me you had a bit of an alien crèche in your basement?" Jack asked with a small laugh.

"Um… I… I… Yeah. These Swarmy things hatched. And damn near caused an earthquake too!" she said we a glower at the plastic box on the ground. I sniggered and she smiled. She had a really cute smile… _Don't _get distracted I warned myself. I had to focus on the job at hand. But she really was gorgeous.

Jack asked her a couple more questions about whether she'd noticed anything unusual and I listened quietly. She started to get a bit shivery and Jack helped her into a chair. I bit my lip, unsure whether I should say anything.

"And he thinks I'm an alien!" she burst out pointing at the Doctor. I looked from her to him in confusion. She didn't look alien, but then again, I'd been working in Torchwood long enough to know that looks can be deceptive.

"I think you must be! Because-," the Doctor began to say.

"No!" Lia yelled furiously. She seemed to be losing control of herself. Hell I would too if I'd been told I was an alien! I turned and picked up a glass off the draining board by the sink and filled it with water.

"Drink. It'll make you feel better," I assured her. She took the glass with trembling hands and I smiled at her, hoping to be a comfort.

"Thanks…" she muttered as she took a sip.

"Listen to me," the Doctor said, "How else do you explain what happened to you earlier?"

"Stomach bug?" she said uselessly. I smiled slightly but the Doctor didn't. He knelt down beside Lia and took her face between his hands. I looked enquiringly at Jack but he offered no explanation. He tilted her head back and she suddenly slumped sideways. Only then did the Doctor let go of her. She ended up leaning against Jack, whom was still kneeling beside her. I wasn't quite sure what I should do next. Should I help? What had the Doctor done that for?  
"What are you?" the Doctor asked firmly when she opened her eyes. I bit my lip. What the hell was he doing? She didn't need this sort of treatment – it wasn't fair! I could tell that she didn't think she was alien. That's why what she said next surprised me.

"I belong to a race called the Celludittons," she whispered gently. Only, it wasn't her voice. It was that of a man. Bloody hell I was confused.

"Tell me," the Doctor insisted.

"The Solar Globe exploded… Our planet burned. "There used to be grass…seas that covered the whole Eastern Hemisphere. There were stars by night that lit everything like little neon candles. By day there was the orange Solar Globe that killed us all in the end." She was crying freely. Tears were dribbling down her cheeks and I wanted to stop the Doctor from hurting her like this. I took a step forward but Jack shot me a warning look and I stayed where I was.

"What about you?" the Doctor asked Lia – or whatever thing was speaking for her.

I took my wife. We saved ourselves. There was no hope for the others. There was nothing we could do for anyone else. We were scientists and had been working on an intergalactic teleport device. It hadn't been tested; it was a risk but we had to try. We would have died anyway if we'd stayed. We took that risk and in the sixty seconds it took to wipe out the entire planet we escaped."

"What then?" the Doctor wanted to know.

"You must understand the Celludittons used to have their own form. They had the ability to change but it took certain conditions."

"I understand," the Doctor promised. I didn't.

"We used to look almost like the humans on this planet. Except we were different. We lived so much longer. We were natural survivors. When my wife and I arrived here we instantly took on the human form. That's what Celludittons do; they copy the dominant species on the planet not just in appearance but every cell in their body. Even though that's how things work, touching another species from another planet changes us too. It takes a great deal of conscious effort to hold back a change."

"Where are you now?"

"Dead."


	2. Kayla's Past

The word hit me hard. How? Lia seemed to be perfectly alive and well… Unless this was something different possessing her mind… Maybe its _body _was dead? I didn't know. I'd ask Jack later.

"Why?" the Doctor probed. Couldn't he just leave her alone? Urgh.

"They were murdered," she said in her own voice again, "Both of them. I was ten. It's twelve years ago now. A man came to my house." She was sobbing uncontrollably now. I'd rarely seen so much pain in one person's face. She didn't really seem aware of anyone's presence in the room. I shut my eyes and just listened to her telling the story. It was like she wasn't able to stop telling it.

"The man started asking questions but mum and dad told him they didn't know the answers. Dad told me to go to my room. The man took out a knife and grabbed me pressing the knife to my throat. Then he started asking questions again with more force. I couldn't remember the questions any more. Then he told dad that he knew we were aliens. Mum said he was drunk and delusional. Then he threw me to the ground and ran at mum and he raised the knife…"

"Lia, please tell me," the Doctor urged even through she was sobbing.

"No!" she wailed and my heart throbbed. She was rocking back and forth anxiously and her distress reminded me horribly of myself when I was a kid. It reminded me of the times when I'd been so lost in despair at my own life.

"Please Lia, just tell me! Can you remember what the man looked like?" the Doctor asked. Her eyes suddenly unfocussed again and she seemed to be lost in her own head.

"He was tall and had black hair and smelt of petrol. He stabbed my mum. There was blood everywhere. There was red everywhere; on the floor, on the knife…on my clothes and face. Dad tried to attack the man then. Over and over he repeated the words "Not my wife, not my Sara, no please!" but the man never listened. Then he turned to dad too. I cried and the man told me to shut up. I was so scared. He kicked me to get me to be quiet.

Then the man ran through the house with dad following him. Before he went dad threw me in the kitchen and slammed to the door. I only just saw the man locking our front door. I hid under the table. I was only ten and I had just seen my mum killed. I cried so much.

I heard banging on the front door. Then dad screamed. I could smell the fire and more petrol. I could still head dad yelling. I struggled to remember what I'd been told to do if a fire stated. The constant drone of the fire alarm, "Dur Dah Dur Dah Dur Dah", punctuated my panicked thoughts. Then I remembered how out kitchen door rarely stayed closed. It burst open…I could feel the heat and then everything went black."

I leaned my head back and shut my eyes tightly. I was remembering far too vividly what it was like to lose a parent and it was making me feel close to tears too. Every time she sobbed it stung at me and I wanted to make it better.

"Why d'you live here?" the Doctor asked after a while.

_"_I woke up in a hospital. There were so many machines around me beeping – constant noise. I tried to concentrate on the noise at night just to block out the memories.

I was transferred from place to place. I was in the Children's Hospital for three months in a coma. I hadn't been badly burned but the force of the fire breaking down the door had sent my flying back and knocked over the table. The doctors thought it was a pure miracle that I survived but I was told the fire brigade had managed to drag me out of the wreckage of my life. But dad was dead before they got there.

After that hospital I was transferred to a Psychiatric Hospital where I was shown how to "deal" with my life. Then I was adopted my Jane Baxter. She was trained to deal with "special cases" like me. I never quite got used to the way I became a file that was so easily transferred from one box to another.

I was given another chance in life. I even changed my name. I used to be Kayla Jacobs. I took on Jane's surname and became Lia Baxter. It was a way of blotting out my past. I could move on and forget. I moved in here; a nice little village where I could trust everyone and not be followed by things I couldn't see. And the village was only ten minutes or so away from Cardiff. I lived quietly and found my talent in writing – then I got a job in journalism," Lia whimpered before looking around wildly, suddenly aware of us in the room.

I opened my eyes again and offered her a small smile. I nearly said something but before I could she was screaming.

"But I'm not Lia Baxter! Lia Baxter is a lie! A role-play character! I'm not her!" she sobbed feebly. Her pain was so heartfelt that it put the rest of us close to tears. I bit my lip so hard that I thought I might draw blood if I wasn't careful.

"But the important thing is that you're here, alive, now!" Jack said holding Lia close.

"Sometimes I wish I had died…" she said sadly. Her voice was almost longing and it was hard to keep from running to hug her. She still was beautiful though, despite the tears blotching her face. "I wish I was still with my parents and we were safe, I wish I was dead!" she yelled the last few words hysterically rocking urgently backwards and forwards.

I couldn't leave her like this. I turned around and opened my black box and pulled out a syringe and a bottle of sedative. I drew out a small quantity of the liquid and turned to Lia.

"No!" she pleaded with me.

"Hey, it'll help!" I promised firmly before taking her arm and injecting the sedative into her bloodstream.

"Lia, listen, you're safe," Jack said quietly as she became drowsy.

"I should have died then too…" she wailed mournfully. Something told me this was one of the few times these feelings came out. She looked like the type to keep everything bottled up – reminded me of myself really. She seemed to be struggling to stay awake but the amount of sedative in her body would be too much for anyone to fight. Her head drooped onto Jack's shoulder and she was asleep.

"Why the fuck did you do that to her?" I demanded of the Doctor as soon as she was unconscious. The Doctor looked slightly affronted.

"I did it because I needed to know. Anything could happen if we let aliens live in a community like this-."

"She didn't even know she was a bloody alien and you made her live through all that crap just because you wanted to know-!" I started yelling but Jack put an arm firmly around me after shifting Lia so she wasn't leaning on him any more.

"Owen. Cool it," he said firmly. I trembled slightly and nodded.

"What do we do now?" I asked eventually.

"We'll take her back to the Hub I guess," Jack said looking at the sleeping girl. She suddenly looked much more peaceful and it was hard to believe she'd been shouting and screaming only moments earlier.


	3. Waking Up

Jack carried her out to the SUV and we put her carefully in the back seat. I sat beside her so I could keep an eye on her. The Doctor sat in the front quietly and thoughtfully. I was still pissed off and didn't want to speak to him. I couldn't believe he forced her to go through all that.

"One question…" I said after a while when we were half way back to the Hub.

"What?" Jack asked curiously.

"Why did she speak in a man's voice for a while?"

"It was her father I think," the Doctor said quietly. He could tell I was still mad at him and I think he thought I was going to fly off the handle at him. Well, it would serve him bloody right.

"What d'you mean?" I demanded.

"The Doctor can do a mind reading trick. He can see inside someone's mind…" Jack said, his voice tailing off.

"So what she heard was a memory?" I asked.

"Partly," the Doctor said slowly, "It was more her father's memory. Part of him lives on in her and that's what we heard. It's a Celluditton thing. When a new child is born they are born with some of their parents' memories. After that, it was all Lia's thoughts."

"Oh…" I said. I looked at Lia as she slept in the backseat of the SUV and I tried to sort out my emotions.

When we got to the Hub Tosh, Gwen and Ianto greeted us. Jack carried Lia straight down to the Medical Bay and I followed.

"What should I do?" I asked curiously. Jack turned to look at me.

"I dunno… Couple of blood tests and things. You know, scans," Jack said to me as he laid Lia down on the bed. I nodded. I was pretty sure she would be grateful of me sticking needles in her again while she was unconscious rather than awake. I got the impression she wasn't the biggest fan.

So, that's what I did. I scanned her body and pulled up the readings on the computer. Everything seemed normal and I was hard to believe this girl was an alien. Although, I guess if she was a Celluditton that meant she took human form or something. Wasn't that what she said?

I couldn't quite explain the strong attraction I felt towards her and I tried to ignore it. It was unreasonable and I'd only known her for an hour or so. What I had seen of her was great distress and trauma but I felt sort of desire for her. She had grown up without proper parental care – as had I. I took her hand and felt it cold. I quickly stood up and rummaged in a cupboard for a blanket to spread over her. She wasn't going to wake up for a long time.

Jack sent me home about nine o' clock at night. I hadn't done too much that day other than look after Lia. She still wasn't awake and Jack insisted I get some rest. I spent the night thinking of her and her story.

I went back into work earlier than usual the next day. I hurried into the Hub and darted down to the Medical Bay taking the last few stairs at a leap. I saw with some relief that Lia was awake. She was sitting up on the bed beside Jack. Ianto was hovering by the sink. Lia seemed quite content in the Hub and was sipping a mug of steaming hot chocolate.

"Morning L-," I began before she cut across me.

"Kayla," she said firmly. I blinked in confusion. Then I realised that that must be her name before her… before her parents died.

"Well Kayla, how you feeling?" I asked taking her arm and fitting a strap around it so I could take her blood pressure.

"Like some prat rammed a syringe in my arm," she said smiling sweetly. Jack sniggered and Ianto smiled.

"Hey!" I complained lightly. I was glad she seemed happier today though.

"Thanks for doing that though," she said more seriously. She looked at the ground awkwardly and she genuinely meant it. I hoped she wasn't too embarrassed about what had happened yesterday – it wasn't her fault.

"It's all part of the job," I said casually and winked at her. She blushed prettily and I had I had to control my sudden need to kiss her.

"Just gonna check you heart rate," I explained sitting down beside her as Jack jumped up. I slipped the stethoscope up the front of her t-shirt and suddenly felt my heart racing. It was really hard to keep this professional. Have you _any _idea how hard it is to keep control of yourself when you've got your hands up an incredibly attractive girl's top. She shut her eyes and breathed steadily. Was she feeling the same way I did? Nah, that was ludicrous. Why should she care about me when she's only known be five minutes.

"That sounds normal…" I said eventually before moving the stethoscope again. She was biting her lip now and I could tell she was trying hard not to laugh. Jack was standing watching us with a small smile on his face. Oh no. I bet he knew what was going on inside my head. I cringed internally. What the hell would he say to me later? He was bound to tease me about this.

"I think you'll be alright," I said taking my hand out from her t-shirt and dumping the stethoscope on a trolley beside me.

"That's, um… A relief," she said nodding slightly and not meeting my eyes.

"Yup. Later on we're gonna run a few more tests-," I began.

"Why?" she demanded abruptly.

"Routine," I assured her. She glared at me. Ianto appeared suddenly at the top of the staircase. I hadn't noticed him leave but he must have if he was back again.

"Jack? That's everyone here now," he said.

"Okay – well, I want everyone in the boardroom in ten," the Captain said before darting up the stairs to Ianto and leaving the pair of us behind.

"Owen…" she said slowly after we were well and truly alone, "What's gonna happen to me?"

"You'll be safe now," I said trying to comfort her.

"Really?" she asked with a note of desperation.

"Yeah," I said holding out my hand to help her up. She leapt up and trembled slightly. Her eyes unfocused and I felt her grip tighten on my hand. When she'd regained her orientation I helped her up the stairs to the rest of the Hub. Her mouth fell open in surprise and I smiled.


	4. The Doctor

"Wow…" she whispered softly, "This is… This is incredible!"

"It is? I never noticed," I smiled. She grinned at me and I felt my heart flip slightly. She really had such a sweet smile. I led her to the boardroom. The Doctor was talking to Jack in the corner. Ianto was dishing out heaven-in-a-cup to Tosh and Gwen.

We sat down side by side at the table and waited for Jack to say something.

"So, quick introductions. I'm Captain Jack Harkness, in charge of Torchwood Cardiff. This is an old friend of mine, the Doctor," the Captain said gesturing to the man sitting beside him. The team straightened up slightly and watched the Doctor intently.

"So… You're _the _Doctor?" Gwen asked curiously. The Doctor looked at Jack before he said anything.

"And Doctor, Kayla, this is Torchwood," Jack interrupted our questioning. The Doctor and Kayla looked around interestedly. When the Doctor looked at the team us he had a strange expression in his eyes as though remembering a horrible memory. He didn't exactly seem to trust us much.

"Toshiko Sato; Torchwood's own technical genius," Jack said pointing to Tosh who blushed modestly and looked down. "Doctor Owen Harper; our resident medical expert." I nodded. "Ianto Jones-."

Suddenly a muffled alarm went off. We all jumped and cast around suspiciously. It wasn't a fire alarm. Tosh got to her feel and left. She said it was just a scan she'd left running on the computer.

"And Gwen Cooper…" Jack finished distractedly while still watching Tosh leave.

There was silence for a moment before Jack spoke again.

"This is Kayla Jacobs," he finished eventually, "So, on with the story."

It was the Doctor who spoke next, "I detected non-human life forms using the TARDIS – my ship – and it led me to Kayla's house. We found the Swarm in her basement but I also figured out that they weren't the only non-humans in the building." Kayla looked at the table in embarrassment. "Kayla here is from another planet," said the Doctor leaning forwards onto the table, "She's from a planet called Durondalius and that's a long, long way away from here."

"How do you know that?" she wanted to know. Her eyes were narrowed in suspicion.

"I did a bit of research, I'd heard a bit about the Celludittons before I met you."

"What we gonna do?" Gwen asked, "Take her home?"

"My home's gone," Kayla said bluntly.

"We need to protect Kayla," the Doctor said urgently, "Celludittons copy the genetic make up of the dominant species of a planet. In a centaury where so much is changing and aliens are coming to Earth Kayla's at risk from them perhaps more than anyone else."

"Why?" Kayla demanded. She was right to want all this explained to her. It was her life and from my perspective it seemed a bit unfair that Torchwood changed everything for her.

"I took the Swarm to another planet but they spoke to me before they went; they knew that you were their only chance of survival. Mothers of the Swarm die after giving birth so they try and find a place where their children will be safe. Because their planet is gone their best chance would be using Kayla. She could be like their foster mother if they could only turn her into one of them."

"So what you're saying is that other species are gonna try taking advantage of me because…because I'm a Celluditton?"

"Yup," the Doctor nodded. There was silence. Kayla buried her head in her hands and I felt slightly awkward. Should I put an arm round her and comfort her? Would that be wrong? Would she want that?

"Tosh and I'll see what we can do for her. You know, run a few tests and see what we come up with," I said trying to help.

"I'm not a bloody experiment!" she snapped angrily. I blinked and looked apologetic. Trust me to say the wrong thing.

"No, but we might be able to help you," Jack said and something in his voice warned everyone against kicking up a fuss.

"Okay…" she agreed meekly.

Ten minutes later Kayla, Toshiko and I were back in the Med Bay. Kayla was sitting on the bed again with her legs dangling over the edge, not quite reaching the ground

"What was the scan you were doing?" Kayla asked Toshiko curiously. Tosh looked up from the piece of paper she was reading.

"Just a search over Cardiff to pinpoint any more Swarm in the area. I did one yesterday but I was just checking again to be certain," she explained sounding, as she always did, as though she was a walking encyclopaedia.

"Find anything?" Kayla asked.

"No, all clear," she replied smiling.

"I'm gonna take a quick blood sample," I said pulling out a syringe. Kayla cringed. I know I'd already taken samples while she was unconscious but I needed another to compare. We wanted to be certain there wasn't any sort of mutation going on in her blood.

Kayla shut her eyes and bit her lip hard.

"Oh you little bastard!" she yelled loudly when I put the needle in her arm. I laughed slightly as she tensed and tried to keep her breathing steady.

"There, all done. You okay?" I asked as she looked faint.

"Uh huh…" she mumbled weakly holding the cotton wool I gave her to the prick in her arm. I handed her a chocolate cookie from a packet on the trolley and she grinned slightly. Seriously, what is it with girls and chocolate? It's a fast track to happiness I reckon.

"I need to take your weight now," I said sheepishly as I led her towards the scales in the corner. She bristled.

"You want to know how much I weigh?" she demanded.

"Yeah…" I mumbled awkwardly. I could see how this could be potentially difficult.

"You never ask a lady that!" she said and I could suddenly see she was feigning outrage. Tosh rolled her eyes at Kayla and I glared. She slipped off her trainers and stood on the scales and let me write down measurements of her height and weight.

Tosh drifted away upstairs to go show Jack her results or whatever.

"Can I have something to eat?" Kayla said eventually when neither of us said anything.

"Hmm?" I replied lamely. Damn you Harper, can't you even say _something _right?

"I haven't eaten in, like, twenty four hours. Other than that cookie," she explained.

"Oh right… Go find Ianto, he'll fix you with something," I said.

"Actually… You mind if I go home for a while?" she asked me hopefully. I was slightly reluctant to let her go. Was it because I was worried about her safety or because I was happy with her where she was…? She looked pleadingly at me and my resolve melted.

"Alright," I said eventually, "You're car's outside somewhere. Jack took it down yesterday for you."

"Why?" she asked, startled.

"To be nice to you?" I shrugged with a smile, "I dunno, maybe to trick your neighbours into thinking you're on holiday or something. Nice car though." It was a really cute car and it suited her personality- little, quirky and sexy.

"Thanks," she said cheerfully.

I led her out the tourist office way and handed her handbag from behind the desk. Gwen had brought that back too.

"Hey, can I have your number?" I asked suddenly as she walked out of the door. She turned and looked at me with raised eyebrows. I cringed slightly. She could really take that the wrong way… Urgh. Well, to be honest, I kind of _wanted _her to take it that way… "You know, in case we need to contact you…" I explained quickly.

"Okay," she said pulling out her flip-open mobile and reeling of her number. I gave her mine and with that she was off.

I watched her go with a mixture of emotions. I really did like her but I couldn't drag her into all this crap with Torchwood and I couldn't get too close to her. I'd only end up losing her; that's all that ever happens in Torchwood. I'd lost everyone I'd ever loved through Torchwood one way or another.

I couldn't help wondering what it'd be like with her. She was a lot like me in many ways but she could never be interested in someone like me… Dream on Harper… Dream on.


	5. Tests

I wandered back into the Hub and Jack informed me we needed to run more tests on Kayla. Sometimes non-humans in human form had special talents of a sort. You know, like never ending stamina. I set a treadmill for her to use when she came back. She wasn't exactly impressed when I told her what I planned for her to do.

"Urgh, do I have to?" she moaned jokily.

"Afraid so," I said with a smile as she stepped onto it reluctantly.

"Just thought I'd mention… That I haven't… Been on one… Of these… Since I was… Sixteen… And my mate and I… Went to the gym… To check out… Hot guys…" Kayla admitted and I rolled my eyes slightly. She giggled.

"Don't worry, we'll take it slowly to start with," I said encouragingly, "But really, you shouldn't have a problem, you look pretty fit to me." I smirked slightly as she stifled her giggles to keep her breathe for running. Eventually I turned off the machine and she stumbled off of it.

"You should do a couple of stretches… Cool down properly," I said to her as I printed off her heart rate readings and things. They all looked pretty average to me. Nothing strange. I poured a glass of water and handed it to her.

"Now Kayla, any muscle fatigue?" I asked sitting down on the bed beside her.

"Uh… A bit, you know, I don't do much proper exercise. That was pretty intensive," she said defensively.

"No you're bound to be feeling tired. Anyone would be!" I said quickly.

"Yup," she agreed with a smile.

"Right then, you seem in good shape. Now, I did some brain scans and things while you were asleep-."

"Drugged," she interjected.

"And I just sorted out the results while you were away getting breakfast. I've had a look and everything seems pretty human except that…" I said pointing at an image that just flashed up in the computer screen in I'd shoved on a trolley to show her. She looked slightly shocked. It was a picture of her brain but there was another structure there too.

"What… What is that?" she asked slowly and nervously.

"It's some sort of brain structure that humans don't have, I think that's what makes you alien," I said, not meeting her eyes but watching the image instead.

"But… But when I was a kid in the hospital I had loads of brain scans! How come they didn't notice that?" she asked in evident confusion.

"Tosh managed to get hold of your medical files-," I started but she looked suspicious and angry again.

"How?" she demanded.

"Because we can," I said bluntly while she looked riled and glared at me, "And she found some of your earlier brain scans. That thing doesn't show upon them so maybe it's just newly developed."

"What does it do?" she asked me having calmed down a bit again.

"I'm not sure but I think that's the unit that makes you change. And I have a way to find out. I'm so sorry Kayla," I said wincing slightly on her behalf. Her eyes widened in panic and I at once felt guilty.

"What?" she asked worriedly getting to her feet.

"We're gonna need to conduct a little experiment," I said helplessly.

"What?"

"Sit down Kayla," I urged and she did so – a little reluctant but she did.

"Tell me what you're gonna do Owen," she pleaded. I didn't like being the one that made her look that scared. She'd been through a hell of a lot already and I didn't want to put any more pressure on her than I needed to.

"We're just gonna fit this on your head," I explained picking up a helmet off the counter and fitting it on her head. I had wires all over it and it was one of Tosh's less attractive creations.

"What is it?" she asked letting her out of her ponytail to make it more comfortable for her. Her hair cascaded over her shoulders like water from a fall.

"It's a brain scanner. It'll detect activity in your brain – including that new bit," I said. Tosh had made it so that it was focused on that new part of Kayla's brain and that's why she had to create the scanner herself – typical scans wouldn't pick up details of alien brain tissue.

"And why you sorry?" she asked, eyes wide and thoughtful.

"Because this might hurt a bit… You see, for this to work we need to… to have you faced with another non-human…" I said, my voice tailing off slightly.

"Okay," she sighed.

"You'll do it?" I asked feeling slightly surprised. I'd been half expecting her to moan about it.

"Yeah," she agreed slowly. I grinned at her told her to wait for a second. I hurried out of the Med Bay and over to where the Doctor was sitting on the sofa talking to Ianto.

"Coming?" I said and he stood up.

"She okay?"

"Yes," I said bluntly. I didn't have much to say to this man really. I dunno why I still felt irritated; maybe because he was the reason Jack had run off for months on end. When the Captain came back something had changed. It was like he was somehow older and the look in his eyes was slightly haunted for a long time – yes, he still put up the confident front and all but if you looked at him when he didn't know you were looking you could see the pain in every movement.

He looked at us like he was afraid he was going to lose us – or worse that he'd already lost us. Jack Harkness really did piss me off at times but when it came down to it I cared a lot about him. He was my leader even if I knew sod all about him. He was still usually right – except when he decided to abandon us.

It had hurt Ianto when he'd left. The young tea-boy was devastated and he looked ever hopeful of Jack's return. Gwen kept saying he would come back but I was sure he wouldn't. Why should he? What was there in this dump worth coming back for?

But he did come back. He came back and it was almost like nothing had ever happened. At least that's how it was for the first while after we'd shouted at him for disappearing. Then we'd started noticing his off behaviour. There was just something he wouldn't tell us and I always wondered what it was – had someone hurt him while he was gone? But Jack, being Jack, never said a word about it.

Anyway, I led the Doctor down to the Med Bay where Kayla was sitting fidgeting with the bottom of her t-shirt. She was nervous and there wasn't much I could say to make this any easier. The Doctor waved cheerfully at Kayla and she smiled weakly.

"What d'you want me to do?" she asked me.

"I want you to shake hands," I said knowing full well how stupid that sounded. The logic behind it was that the Doctor was an alien and touching him should spark a reaction in Kayla. The good thing was that there wasn't as many physical differences between human form and Timelord form (for that's what he was. Jack told me).

The Doctor held out a hand and Kayla took it apprehensively. I watched the computer as readings flooded in.

"Brilliant," I said after a few moments and Kayla dropped the Doctor's hand at once. I looked at the computer for a while before speaking. It was obvious now that that extra bit in Kayla's brain was definitely what made her a Celluditton.


	6. Does She Like Me?

"So… What happens now?" she asked me as she sat down in a chair nearby.

"Tosh and I are gonna have a look at these results but for now you can just go and… I dunno, hang around?" I said cheerfully. The Doctor beckoned to Kayla and she followed him out of the room with a small smile in my direction as she went. I grinned back. Tosh wandered down the steps to join me in the Med Bay.

"Did it work?" she asked hopefully. I nodded.

"Yeah. Thanks Tosh, you're a genius," I said with a grin. She smiled modestly before carrying on.

"So, what did you find?"

"Well, that bit in Kayla's brain is what makes her a Celluditton. Watch this," I played back the images the scanner had taken when Kayla was in contact with the Doctor, "See that?" I said excitedly as colour flared into the tissue. The activity was intense and obvious.

"Wow…" Tosh breathed. I nodded again.

"So we need something to stop her changing," I pondered aloud. This was going to be a challenge. Well, not so bad when you have Tosh on you side though. She was the sort of person who can come up with an answer to a tricky maths question in a matter of seconds while the rest of us would be struggling along uncomprehending.

"That's straight forward enough," she said to me – predictably.

"How do we do this?" I asked.

"I need you to find out what sort of enzyme is released in her brain when the change occurs and then find something to block it. I'll find a way to store that block so that it will work with Kayla," Tosh explained at a hundred words a minute.

"Alright," I said setting to work, "Ianto? Coffee?" I asked as my colleague appeared at the top of the steps.

It wasn't too long before we finished. I held up the little neck chin and smiled proudly. Tosh and managed to put the blocking chemical inside a blue pendant. Who knows how she did it but she did and I was impressed.

"Hey Kayla!" I called excitedly. Kayla appeared in the Med Bay again looking inquisitive.

"What?"

"Come here," I insisted and she wandered over to me.

"What is it?" she wanted to know. I held out the chain and waited for her reaction. She gasped and looked at Tosh and I with a grateful shine in her eyes.

"It's lovely!" she whispered.

"Glad you think so," Tosh said contentedly.

"Thanks!" Kayla beamed before hugging Tosh and then me. I hugger her too and tried to control my sudden rush of hormones.

"Thought it would bring out the colour of your eyes," I said cheekily.

"It's a solidified blue chemical with a special system inside it that detects activity in that little bit of your brain that affects you changing form. It's all really hi-tech and well… It'll give you a bit more freedom. It keeps you hidden from any aliens searching for you because of your species," Tosh explained as I fixed the chain around Kayla's neck. My hand brushed against her neck as I did so and she tensed slightly.

Then her mobile rang. She fumbled around in her pocket for a moment before pulling it out.

"Kayla Jacobs," she said as she answered it. Then she winced slightly and I could tell that she'd forgotten she'd only just changed her name back that morning.

"Yeah, this is Lia… What's up? … Yeah, I did. I've decided to change it again…"

I wandered off to tidy up the Med Bay a bit while she was on the phone. It wasn't a very long conversation and she flipped her phone shut after a minute or two.

"I'm going back home for a while. Meeting a friend. That alright?" she asked politely.

"I guess. Just be careful," I said, feeling over-protective again.

"Here, Ill come with you!" Gwen said happily as she made an appearance in the room too. Kayla nodded and I felt better about letting her go at once. We still weren't certain that someone wasn't trying to hurt her – maybe someone had sent the Swarm along first. I dunno. If Gwen was with her however, it wouldn't be so bad.

I didn't really know what to do with myself next. I decided my best bet would be to catch up with paper work but I really wasn't in the mood for it today. I left the Med Bay and sat down at my desk to face the mountain of sheets on the desk. Dammit. This was going to be so much fun, I thought sarcastically.

I picked up my pen and began to write things down but then gave up; my mind was elsewhere and thinking about last week's aliens was too difficult.

"You okay Owen?" Jack asked not long later. I nodded and tried to look like I was doing something rather than staring into space.

"Uh huh," I said distractedly.

"Well, you busy?" he asked. I shook my head, "Can you go check on Kayla then please?"

"Alright," I said getting to my feet, "Why?"

"You mean you don't want to?" Jack asked with a mischievous and suggestive grin.

"You're a bastard Harkness," I grumbled.

"I've been told so," Jack agreed with a laugh, "I just want you to check she's not breaking down or something. Gwen called saying that she was on her own now. She might have been bottling all this up until she's alone."

"I'll go now then," I said shrugging on my jacket and heading for the door. Suddenly I stopped and turned around, "Jack?"

"Huh?"

"D'you think she likes me?" I blurted out. I immediately wished I hadn't when Jack grinned broadly at me.

"You know what? I think she does," he said laughing slightly.


	7. Visiting

**Author's Note: I'm so sorry about how long it took to update this. I got kinda distracted by things like school... And thank you to _choel ffydd_** **whom reviewed anonymously and I couldn't send a thank you message. **

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I jumped in my car and drove off out of Cardiff. I had to think a bit to remember where Kayla's house was but I found it eventually. Her little blue car was parked outside and I walked past it to ring the doorbell. I wasn't waiting long before Kayla threw open the door and greeted me with a smile.

"Hey," she said happily.

"Hey," I replied, "I was just wondering how you were?"

"Checking up on me are you?" she laughed. She had a sweet melodic laugh and it made her eyes sparkle. I got the impression she was glad I was there. I was glad I was there too.

"Kinda, yeah. You see, at Torchwood sometimes we deal with people who take things badly. You know, put on a brave front but really they're tearing at the seams."

"So, you're come to see if I'm going bats?" she smirked.

"Yup, that about sums it up," I agreed complacently. She grinned as she turned to go through to the kitchen. I followed her.

"You want a drink?" she asked turning round again. I immediately dragged my eyes back from their wandering and looked at her face again.

"Yeah, why not," I said.

"Coffee?"

"Yeah. Please," I said smiling. She was silent for a while after that and she went about making coffee. She seemed tense and worried.

"You alright Kayla?" I asked, concerned.

"Hmm?" she replied distractedly, "Oh… Yeah."

"You sure?" I challenged.

"Um… Yeah. I… It's just been a tiring few days and… And I don't really want to be… Damn, this is stupid. It doesn't matter," she said dismissing my question with a small wave of the hand.

"You don't want to be alone?" I guessed. She paused while she held the kettle under the tap. She turned to look at me.

"What?"

"Just a thought," I said sheepishly looking down. Me? Embarrassed? I mean, that's not something that happens every day.

"No, what you said… You were right," she admitted flopping down in a chair at the table where I was already sitting at. I thought so.

"You want to come back to my house?" I asked slowly suddenly scared she'd laugh at me. "You could stay for a while until you get things sorted out." I could see her thinking this through in her mind. I was being ridiculously anxious over this. She'd sleep on the sofa and… Yeah. She'd sleep on the sofa. I ignored the little voice that was shouting X rated thoughts at me.

"You wouldn't mind?" she checked.

"Course not!" I said putting an arm around her shoulders.

"I'll go get my overnight bag," she said, "I'll come back here to sort out what I'm gonna do tomorrow."

"Okay," I said smiling. This might be good…

She disappeared to go grab her bag so I sat and sipped my coffee. I tried not to think of what Jack would say should he realise I'd just invited Kayla back to my place. She didn't take long to get ready and she was back in a matter of minutes.

"Ready?" I asked. She nodded and picked up her keys off the table. She locked her front door as I unlocked my car.

"Nice car," she said grinning, evidently impressed. I turned on the ignition and the engine flared into life. I revved the engine a few times for good measure.

"Show off," she said rolling her eyes. Some man from across the road glared out of his window at us. I waved cheerfully at him and he greeted the gesture with a rude two-fingered version. Idiot.

I sped off along the street and Kayla became much more animated. We chatted about just random things and then the silences that followed were brief and companionable. T

"What were your parents like?" she asked after a while. I fought to keep control of the car for a moment as I registered her question. I suddenly remembered my childhood in one big rush. I didn't like thinking about it but I guessed it was only fair to tell Kayla since she'd told me her past.

"I lived with my Mum… Dad died when I was just a kid. The day after my sixth birthday," I said slowly keeping my eyes fixed on the road. I couldn't let myself be dragged down by this.

"I'm sorry," she said, genuinely caring. It was the sort of thing that only someone else in the same situation would understand.

"Yeah… You know, I've never told anyone this before," I said sadly. It was true, it wasn't something I made a point of telling people but here I was telling a woman I'd only met the day before.

"You don't have to tell me," she said quickly.

"No, it's alright. It's only fair; we've poked around in your family life enough!" I said softly.

"You sure?" she asked.

"Yeah. It might do me some good to talk about it… I'm not in the habit of doing that." And then I told her everything. It just all came tumbling out and I couldn't stop it. All the bitterness, all the hate, all the fear, everything – it all came right out of my mouth and Kayla sat and listened quietly making the odd comment.

I remembered the day Mum met her new boyfriend and he beat me. He was always mad at me and he wanted nothing more than to hurt me. He was a bastard and I hated him for all I was worth. He'd… He'd raped my Mum and there was nothing turned her against me.

She was an alcoholic and depended heavily on the drink. It was hard to see her like that and the night after her boyfriend had… Well, she went into shock and started seeing me as my Dad. She'd claimed I was a ghost and that I had no right to be in the house. She'd thrown me out in the streets and I'd gone to the police.

Things didn't get better after that. She got even more dependent on the drink and threw me out as soon as I was sixteen years old. I went to stay with an Aunt and Uncle in Cardiff and I'd been in Cardiff ever since. I shuddered and tried to rid myself of those painful memories.

"Fancy getting a pizza on the way home?" I asked trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"Great!" Kayla agreed. I felt a hell of a lot better after telling her about myself. I felt she understood me more now, if that makes sense?


	8. Dirty Little Secret

**Author's Note: M rated chapter. Thanks for your help with this Zebbie!! Readers, can we have a big cheer for ZebraBlonde for her help with this chapter? Thank you!**

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"Want another drink?" I said as we sat together on the sofa listening to the radio and sharing pizza and wine.

"Sure," she replied holding out her glass. We just sat and chatted about our hobbies and favourite music and things. I'd really enjoyed it. It just felt natural being with her. Nothing was forced and we were both quite happy sitting at there together. Then a song by All American Rejects came onto the radio, you know the one, _Dirty Little Secret. _We exchanged a grin and then suddenly I couldn't hold back any longer. If I didn't let her know how I felt I would explode.

My lips came into contact with hers and my heart flapped around madly in my chest, I couldn't control it. She let me explore her mouth and did the same to me. Her tongue trailed over my teeth and I wanted to keep on kissing her for all eternity. I felt like we were the only two people alive and that we were all that mattered in the world.

We broke apart for air after a few moments and I felt more than a little buoyant. She was looking into my eyes with something I instantly identified as desire. I'd seen it countless times.

"You sure you want this?" I asked quietly. I suddenly wondered what I'd do if she said no, how would I respond… But she wouldn't, would she?

"Oh yeah. I'm sure," she whispered huskily before leaning forwards and kissing me again.

What happened after that went far too quickly but every minute was breathtaking. I took her hand and led her through to the bedroom. I fumbled for the light switch but gave up when she started kissing down my neck, leaving a wet trail. My mind was spinning with thoughts but none of them stayed long enough for me to think about very much. We were still kissing and then she was up against the wall, my chest against hers. She trembled as my hands explored her body greedily.

Her hands were locked in my dark hair as I pulled her shirt off. Next thing I knew was that she was pulling mine over my head before I could even comprehend what she was doing. Her hands ran down my chest, her nails trailing over my skin and making me shiver.

After that she was beneath me on the bed and I was fumbling around with her bra and my mouth was trailing down her neck. Hell, I didn't even have to think about what I was doing – not that I would have been able to even if I had wanted to.

She was running her hands up and down my back and I shuddered slightly. Her touch burned my skin and sent little sparks flying around my brain and wanted nothing more than to have her here with me forever. I trailed kisses over chest and I felt her whimper my name. Hell, my name had never sounded more beautiful than when she said it then.

As I lost myself in kissing as much of her as I possibly could, her hands found my belt and began fumbling with the buckle. I was positively squirming with anticipation and I was breathing heavily.

I moved back from her slightly and looked into her eyes. She smiled dazedly up at me with a passionate, hungry expression in her eyes.

"Are you really sure you want this?" I asked, scared incase she thought I was taking advantage of her, "I'd understand if you chose to back out." I didn't want her to say she didn't want to do this… I wanted her so badly. I really couldn't let her go now.

She didn't say anything but pulled my head closed and kissed me fiercely. That was the only go-ahead I needed and I fumbled around in the dim light for the zipper on her jeans.

Then her hand was in my underwear and I cried out slightly. Then within seconds everything became a blur… A mess of tangled emotions… I was inside her and that was all that really mattered in the world. We moved together as one, slowly at first but then faster until I couldn't control myself any longer. The only thing I was aware of was she and I.

"Bloody hell…" I whispered quietly without realising it. She whimpered softly and breathed in the air we both needed.

"Are you alright?" I asked, concerned. She nodded and kissed me again before speaking.

"I'm just not used to it," she assured me. Hell, neither was I. Not with Kayla anyway.

Eventually I lay on top of her, completely exhausted. I buried my head in her neck and she moaned contentedly, her arms around my waist. I still longed to have her with me again but sleep was closing in.

"Amazing…" I whispered softly and I was going to say something else but I couldn't – I was asleep before I could.


	9. Drugged

**Author's Note: Thanks again for reviews. And also, do any of you have Bebo? If you do you might be interested in a new challenge I'm running this December. If you are interested add this onto the end of the bebo site address and you should find the site: /adventchallenge. It this doens't work and you're interested follow the homepage direction from my Fanfiction profile. You'll find it on my Bebo.**

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I woke up before her the next morning. She was still sleeping deeply and she really was gorgeous. She looked beautiful and would have been quite happy to lie there forever with her and just exist. Her head was resting on my chest and my arm was around her waist. There was something about the body spray she wore that made me want kiss her again and completely escape the challenges of Torchwood. She smiled slightly and I could tell she was awake.

"Morning," I said softly.

"Morning, Owen," she grinned contentedly. I toyed with her hair for a moment as we just lay quietly together. It was relaxed and neither of us felt any pressure to do anything in particular.

"Breakfast?" I asked after a while.

"Mmm," she nodded happily, "I'm gonna go get a wash." I lifted her head slowly onto the pillow and sat up. My whole body was still buzzing from everything last night and I grinned at the memory. I pulled on a pair of tracksuit trousers and stood up.

"I'll be back, don't' worry," I said with a grin as Kayla watched me go. I bounded through to the kitchen struggling to contain my happiness. Last night was something that I wouldn't have expected to happen. I wanted it to happen yes, but I didn't think it actually would.

I stuffed some bread into the toaster and then pulled down the handle. I pulled out a pan and turned on the cooker. Scrambled eggs and toast sounded good to me. I quickly put it all on a tray and carried it back through to the bedroom just as Kayla came out of the bathroom. She was wearing jeans and purple shirt now.  
We sat together on the bed and ate our breakfast.

"So, you coming back to Torchwood today?" I asked after a moment's silence. She contemplated the question quietly for a second before answering.

"Yeah, I suppose," she said finally.

"Great," I said, happy that she didn't want to just get out of Torchwood as soon as she could.

"I might go home first though. You know, sort things out there," she said.

"Cool," I said nodding. She probably needed a minute to herself after everything. I didn't want her to go though. I wanted to… My mind wandered and a small smile played on my lips and I tried to resist the temptation. I needed to shower so I kissed her gently on the cheek before getting up again.

I stopped to look at myself in the mirror for a moment in the bathroom. My dark hair was all over the place. I had a giddy smile on my face and I smiled more to see that.

I wandered back into the Hub later on the afternoon quite pleased with myself. Jack, being the nosy bugger he was, noticed at once and made for me.

"What's the story?" he asked keenly. Honestly, Jack Harkness was even worse than some girls for gossip. I sighed.

"Nothing to do with you," I said as I sat down at my desk and swung from side to side on my seat. Jack raised his eyebrows.

"As my employee, _everything_ is to do with me," he said with a grin. He and I both knew full well that this wasn't true. I fought the urge to laugh at him as he perched himself on the edge of my desk waiting for some great story.

"Nothing happened last night," I insisted firmly. Jack's grin widened and I sighed. I'd just walked straight into his trap.

"So, it was last night was it?" he asked slyly. I grimaced slightly.

"Um."

"Did this involve a certain Kayla Jacobs?"

"No!" I said a little to quickly. Jack winked at me triumphantly as he got to his feet again.

"You're secret's safe with me," he said. I silently wanted to smack him. My love life was nothing to do with him. Love life? No, my _sex _life… This wasn't love, was it? Some small voice in my head was telling me it most certainly was.

It wasn't long before Ianto scurried around handing out coffee on demand. I grinned as he put the mug down by my computer.

"Thanks Ianto," I said cheerfully.

"You're in a good mood today," Ianto noted as he looked at me curiously for a moment. I nodded and picked up my mug.

"Yep, so make the most of it," I said swinging on my seat slightly. Ianto made a face that I couldn't quite decide if it was a grimace or a smile before walking off to speak to Jack. I sat and drank my coffee while trying to put together some sort of medical summary for Kayla. It was proving to be a difficult task because my mind kept wandering back to thoughts of last night.

Ten minutes later, Tosh gave a surprised cry of alarm and we all looked up. I blinked a few times as my mind returned to the Hub.

"Tosh? What is it?" Jack wanted to know as he hurried over. Gwen, Ianto and I looked curiously at the computer screen Tosh was looking at and gasped.

"Who is that?" Gwen asked with a confused frown.

"No idea…" Tosh said quietly. I looked closer at the video on the screen. Someone had come into the Hub. There was a cloaked figure hanging around outside for a good while before coming into the tourist office. Okay, the fact he came into the office wasn't overly suspicious because we did have occasional tourists in there. What was weird was the fact that he was hanging around outside for ages before actually coming in.

"Ianto, did you see anyone in the office?" Gwen asked.

"No… I've been sorting out the archives all day after someone put a _live _specimen in there to wreck havoc…" Ianto said with a moody edge to his voice as he glared pointedly at me.

"I honestly thought it was dead!" I said wincing slightly, "And besides, it gave you something to do besides hanging around waiting for Jack to-."

"Owen, that's enough," Jack said firmly as Ianto blushed furiously – of course, that's what I'd been aiming for.

"Did they come _out _of the tourist office though?" I asked looking at Tosh and going back to subject.

"Yes…" Tosh said slowly, "He was shifty and paranoid though. He kept checking his back all the time."

"So he came in and went out…?" I said stifling a yawn slightly. I was slowly beginning to feel ridiculously tired. I checked my watch and saw it was only three o' clock. Maybe it was just last night catching up with me.

"Yeah, I think so," Tosh said as she flicked through the rest of the footage from inside the Hub. Suddenly Jack drew in a sharp breath and pointed to one image on the CCTV monitoring screen.

"There!"

"What?"

"Someone was in the kitchen and I'm guessing that's not Ianto," Jack said as Tosh pulled up a still image of the figure by the Hub coffee machine. Gwen rubbed her eyes sleepily and tried to focus on the image. I could safely say I was feeling exactly like she was. I yawned again before I could stop it and felt my eyes watering slightly. Of course, my yawning set the others off – as yawning does.

"Will you guys stop _yawning_? Am I really that boring?" Jack asked looking slightly puzzled and annoyed. Tosh was first to actually drop off. She was sitting in her desk chair with her head resting on her hand and then her eyelids drooped shut.

"Owen, what's happening?" Jack demanded, turning to me as the team's medic. I shrugged weakly.

"Exhaustion…" I said lamely. The Captain looked instantly suspicious and he took my arm and sat me down in a chair. Gwen and Ianto watched in bemusement. Jack pulled back my eyelids and looked in my eyes and frowned.

"Nothing odd…" he said, evidently at a loss for an explanation, "You seem fine."

"We been drugged?" I asked slowly, trying to form a sentence in my tired mind.

"I think maybe yes," Jack said biting his lip, "I'm going to check out the coffee."

"You suggesting I-," Ianto began, looking irritated.

"No, I'm suggesting our visitor drugged us," Jack cut across him, "I'll be back in a minute. Sit down. All of you. I'm not having anyone collapsing." With that he vanished to go and investigate the coffee. Evidently he hadn't actually drunk anything. It would be Harkness that manages to stay awake, wouldn't it.

The next while past in a mess of sleepy confusion. Ianto and Gwen were sitting on the sofa asleep. I was dimly aware of my surroundings and then my phone rang. It seemed much too loud and I groaned as I fumbled around for a while. Then I found it on the desk and pressed the answer button.

"Owen 'Arper?" I muttered, trying to keep my mind in one piece.

"Owen!" I terrified squeak came on the line. My eyes opened at once when I heard her voice, "Owen, It's Kayla!"

"Kayla…? Kayla what's up?" I asked urgently as I tried to force my mind to work and make sense of my thoughts.

"I'm…. I'm…" she stuttered in a panic. I was scared for her once. Was she hurt? Where was she? I thought she went home to sort out her stuff? What had happened?

"You alright?" I demanded groggily. I tried to force the weariness out of my mind for the moment but failed miserably. See when I found the sick, drugging bastard? I was so gonna kick his ass.

"I… I'm fine," she whimpered. She was lying to me. Why? What was going on, "What about you? What's wrong with you?"

"Tired," I mumbled. She shouldn't be worrying about me… Not when she was clearly in trouble. I couldn't fight the blackness anymore. My eyes flickered closed just as I saw the Doctor hurrying back into the room. He was looking for someone but then he spotted us lying around asleep in the Hub. Not normal, I thought dazedly. He seemed to notice me on the phone and last thing I was aware of was him snatching it out of my hands.

"Kayla? Kayla is that you?" he said firmly as I slipped into the depths of a drugged sleep.


	10. They've Got Kayla

**Author's Note: If you're enjoying reading this from Owen's point of view, I have a new series up called _The Reflections Series _that will go through each episode and give various reflections from different character's point of view. **

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Next thing I was aware of was general panic. I rubbed my eyes and winced slightly as I sat up. Gwen noticed my awakening and ran over to me with a mission set in her eyes.

"Owen!" she said softly.

"Huh?"

"It's Kayla, they've got Kayla!" Gwen babbled, "Jack's gone off to try and get her back and he's said we should stay here-."

My mind did a double take, "They've got _Kayla_? Who's got her?" I demanded.

"We don't know exactly but Jack took the phone from the Doctor and then ran off after saying warning them that he'd go get them," she said quickly.

"Jack's gone?" I said, slow to understand what's going on.

"Yeah, he's gone to find Kayla," she said, "Tosh and Ianto are still asleep. The Doctor's over at Kayla's house trying to figure out what's going on. Jack insisted we stay here after being drugged…" she finished bitterly.

"What do we do in the meantime them?" I demanded. My mind was reeling. Kayla? Was she hurt? She couldn't be! No!

"I dunno, Owen," she said, "I'm sorry." She put her arm around me in some gesture of sympathy and I guessed my panic was evident. I shrugged away from her and sat still and thought for a moment.

"What time is it?" I asked eventually.

"Midnight," Gwen said slowly.

"Midnight?" I repeated incredulously. It had only been three o' clock in the afternoon last time I'd checked. I shut my eyes for a moment to try and sort out my mind. Missing great chunks of my day really was fucking with my head.

"You okay?" Gwen asked softly.

"Yup. Bloody perfect," I said bitterly getting to my feet. Suddenly my world spun and I felt sick. It passed in a wave and I cursed the bastard that'd gotten into the Hub and drugged us yet again.

Feeling like I needed to do something useful, I ran a few quick medical checks over Gwen to make sure the drug hadn't affected her anymore than sending her to sleep. I'd do the same for the other two when they came round.

I couldn't think of anything to say and I bit my tongue to stop myself coming out with some random outburst of fury. The only way I was going to get through this was if I kept a level head.

"Does Rhys know where you are?" I asked after a while. Gwen nodded. I kinda felt sorry for poor long-suffering Rhys Williams – Gwen's fiancé. It must really suck to be a boyfriend of a Torchwood worker and not actually know what your girl does for a living.

"Yeah… I told him we were on some all-night case," she said with a regretful smile. An awkward silence fell again.

I wandered around the Hub aimlessly looking for something to do. I was restless and I couldn't sit still. I was worried about Kayla, yes. I hoped more than anything that she wasn't hurt. I didn't know what I'd have done if she was hurt. I loved her, didn't I? It was only natural that I was so worried about her. Could I really be in love though? She was a girl that we'd come across on a case.

She was so much more than that though. I understood her and she me. It was good to hae that level of understanding with anyone. I mean, sure Jack Harkness knew my story but he was my boss. There were some things he only knew vague details about. I hadn't spoken much about my childhood to him but I guess, he has all my records and everything. It was different with Kayla though. It was like it'd really managed to connect with someone, as fairy tale as that sentence sounds.

Then the phone in the Hub rang and I hurried to answer it. Gwen stood by my side and I put on the loudspeaker.

"Hello?" I said slowly.

"Owen?" came the voice of the Doctor, "That you?"

"Yup."

"Well, we know where Kayla is. Jack's there already and I'm on my way. Is everything alright your end?"

"Yes," I said, "Ianto and Tosh are still out of it but Gwen and I are fine," I explained. I was relieved that they knew where Kayla was but she still wasn't safe yet. She wasn't out of the danger yet. I wouldn't be settled until she was.

"What do we do now?" Gwen asked the Doctor.

"Whatever needs doing," the Doctor said bluntly before hanging up on us. Gwen and I looked at each other for a moment before either of us spoke.

"At least they know where she is…" Gwen said slowly, searching for some sort of conversation.

"I guess," I said before sighing and burying my head in my hands. I wasn't used to feeling useless and to be honest, I didn't like it. I didn't like it at all.

The next two hours or so passed at a slow, agonising pace. Ianto woke up eventually and went rummaging for a fresh jar of coffee after I'd given him the all clear. We didn't want to risk using the old coffee beans in case we were all sent to sleep again.

With a fresh cup of coffee we all sat around quietly waiting until Tosh woke up. I ran my medical check again before sitting down at my desk quietly again.

Suddenly we heard a bizarre whooshing noise. We all case around anxiously as we looked for the source of the noise. If I didn't work for Torchwood I'd be pretty freaked out by the arrival of a blue Police Box in the middle of the Hub. It wasn't normal, but neither was Torchwood. The last few days had been anything but normal.

"What the hell…?" I muttered before jumping to my feet and running over to the box. I recognised it as the thing the Doctor was going in and out of on the street and assumed this must be the ship that he sometimes spoke about but we'd never seen – until then.

I reached out slowly and put my hand on the door. It swung open gently as though it wanted me to go in. That idea was kind of ludicrous since a ship like this can't actually be alive. It's made of wood to start with.

My mouth fell open as I saw inside the box. It was massive! I mean, big beyond belief! It really messed with my sense of proportion as I looked around. The central column was an eerie sort of blue-green and there were an assortment of complex looking controls around the bottom. There were some sort of vein-like structures around the machine. It was all I could do to keep in control as I looked around.

Then I saw her. Kayla was lying on the ground unconscious. There was blood on her shirt, on her face and everywhere. I, at once, jumped to horrible conclusions and fell to my knees beside her in panic.


	11. Kayla's Story

"Kayla!" I said urgently shaking her shoulder lightly in an attempt to wake her up. She didn't respond and I felt my blood running cold in my veins. She couldn't be dead, could she? "Kayla!" I insisted as I checked her pulse. She was still alive – thank heaven. "Kayla!" I tried one more time before she suddenly woke up again. She cast around frantically in terror and I tried to calm her down.

"Owen," she whispered weakly before throwing her arms around me. I smiled slightly as I held her close.

"Hey, it's alright! You're safe!" I insisted while she clung to me.

"It… It was horrible Owen!" she whimpered quietly, "J… Jack! He… He…" she tailed off looking me in the eyes in despair.

"He's dead?" I asked with a small sigh.

"Yeah," she mumbled as she buried her head in my shoulder. She didn't need to worry though; Jack would be back soon. He never stayed dead long.

"But he'll be back to life soon enough! He didn't tell you but-," I began to explain before she cut across me.

"No, it's different this time," she said desperately willing me to understand. I was confused but I listened to her as she ran through everything that had happened to her when she'd been kidnapped, "They tortured me, Owen, I thought I was gonna die… And Jack turned up and… And they shot Jack because I wouldn't tell them where the Doctor was and the Doctor came along and he said… Owen he said Jack was poisoned. He said some crap about him being kept dead by some alien poison thing."

"Who are "They"?" I asked curiously, "Who kidnapped you?"

"The Master. He calls himself the Master. Him and his little dogsbody - Verdreht. He killed Verdreht…" she babbled. She was talking quickly and her eyes were terrified. I wanted nothing more than to take away all the pain that this Verdreht guy and the Master had caused her.

"How did you get away?" I wanted to know as I picked her up gently to take her down to the Medical Bay. I just needed to check if she was badly hurt.

"The Doctor came in his machine thing," she said softly, "When the Master killed Verdreht I had to run away… I dunno how I got her. Something hit me in the leg when I got here… Then everything… I don't remember anything after that," she said helplessly. She wrapped her arms around my neck as I took her down towards the Medical Bay. We passed Ianto on the way and he looked curiously at us. He opened his mouth to say something and then I shook my head.

"Just leave us a minute Ianto," I said firmly. Ianto seemed to understand and he walked away to do whatever he does.

"You alright?" Kayla asked me suddenly. I looked at her, taken by surprise slightly by her question, "What happened when I phoned?"

"Oh… Someone had spiked our drinks," I said bitterly, "Sleeping draft. I'm guessing it was the same bastard that kidnapped you." I remembered the horrible lethargy that had come over me while I wrote up a report. It was beyond confusing but at least the team were alright now. Except Jack, that was. My heart sank as I thought of him. He'd be alright, wouldn't he? He'd be able to fight the poison and come back to us, right? What the hell would we do without Jack Harkness? Sure he pissed the crap out of me at times but I needed him. His last absence had proved that.

"I'm sorry Owen," Kayla mumbled into my chest. I blinked in surprise again. Why was she apologising?

"It's not your fault!" I said comfortingly, "You didn't do anything wrong!"

"I shouldn't have got caught," she said sheepishly. I laughed slightly at the ludicrous reason she was punishing herself for. Shouldn't have got caught? Well, it was more often than not easier said than done.

"Happens to the best of us. In this job anyway," I half laughed, "And believe me, it wasn't in the job description."

What time is it?" she asked, looking up at me again in curiosity.

"Nearly three in the morning," I said as I laid her down on the bed in the Med Bay. Her eyes widened in surprise and I smiled slightly.

"And you're still up?" she said incredulously.

"Yep," I nodded.

"Because… Because of me?" she said with disbelief written all over her face. I nodded again.

"Because of you," I confirmed as I placed a gentle kiss to her lips. After a few moments I pulled away when she started hyperventilating slightly. I suddenly noticed the abnormally high temperature radiating from her and I was immediately certain this wasn't because of me. I could dream but there was no way in hell I made a girl hyperventilate by kissing her.

She struggled to tell me she couldn't breathe in a wild panic and I tried to calm her down. She looked confused and her eyes were unfocussed.

"Kayla look at me," I urged. She mumbled some feeble protest and struggled to open her eyes. I pulled back her eyelids gently and looked at her eyes before making a mental note; her pupils were uneven and dilated. "Kayla, honey, relax," I insisted before calling for Ianto.


	12. I Can't Lose You

"I… I…" she stuttered in fear. I took her hand and shook my head.

"Don't try and talk," I said, "Just… Ianto, come here!" I called again as my young Welsh colleague appeared in the Med Bay. "I think she's going into anaphylactic shock," I explained urgently, "Reacting to something. Just do what I say; talk to her please."

"Sure," Ianto said as he sat down beside Kayla on the bed.

I rummaged frantically around in the cupboards for a shot of adrenaline for Kayla. I found what I was looking for and unzipped the case to pull out the needle. Kayla wince slightly as she realised what I was doing and shut her eyes tightly.

"I'm just giving you a dose of adrenaline, Kayla," I explained as means of reassurance. It would be better for her if she knew what I was doing, "It'll help and in a minute this will all be over. See, you won't feel anything! Trust me. There we go…" I said as I pressed the needle into her arm. "Done!" I concluded my ramble triumphantly. She opened her eyes slowly as I sat down beside her on the bed and rubbed her back gently, trying to get her to relax a bit.

"Ianto, water," I said firmly to my colleague and he hurried off to do as I asked. Ianto was good about things like that.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled in an embarrassed voice. I rolled my eyes slightly and hugged her.

"Hey, listen. It's not your fault!" I insisted, "I told you already."

"What happened…?" she asked tentatively.

"I think you were allergic to something, did you get injected with anything when you were caught? Oh yeah, you said you were shot with a dart as you were leaving?" I said, making realisations and connections suddenly as I went along. She nodded quietly with silent tears still dribbling down her cheeks. I quickly wiped them away gently, "I'm guessing that's what it was then," I told her quietly. Ianto wandered back in with a glass of water and handed it to Kayla. She thanked him and sipped it quietly.

"Let's have a look at those cuts then? Ianto, we'll be alright now."

"Mmm…" she mumbled sleepily.

"Right, you mind slipping off your shirt?" I asked once Ianto was safely out of the room.

"Sure it's just my injuries you want to see?" she asked with a small laugh. I could see it caused her pain to laugh but she smiled weakly through it anyway. I grinned back at her and helped her take of her top.

My eyes widened when I saw the cuts across her collarbone and her wrists. I bit back my fury and set about helping her.

"I'll be able to sort this out," I said confidently.

"Really?" she asked hopelessly.

"Yup," I said as I took cotton wool and brushed it over the cut along her collar. She winced slightly but didn't protest, "Just cleaning you up a but," I reassured her. She nodded quietly. "It's not that deep…"

It was true - the cuts weren't too deep. They wouldn't need stitching or anything but they were enough to cause someone a great deal of pain. I took some antiseptic gel and wiped the wound clean and suddenly she screamed in agony. I panicked, worried that I'd hurt her.

"Hey, what's wrong? What is it?" I asked her, trying to keep my voice calm. She doubled over clutching her stomach and lay down on the bed in a little ball. I tried to get her to look at me and tell me what was wrong but she didn't seem able to speak. Her face was pale and clammy to touch.

"Everything okay, Owen?" Ianto asked anxiously appearing beside me. I looked frantically at him and failed miserably in my resolve to stay calm.

"I dunno, Ianto, I dunno what's going on!" I said in alarm. She suddenly fell still and stopped crying. My mind was locking down and I fought to keep hold of my thoughts. I had to help her. I_ had _to!

"Owen, calm down!" Ianto urged as straightened Kayla out to check her breathing and pulse. She was still alive. Her heart beat was still there and I for all I knew she could just be sleeping…

"I… I can't lose her! I can't!" I babbled anxiously. Okay, I was being unprofessional but I really didn't know what to do to help her. I couldn't even be sure what it was that made her react the way she did. I pulled out a needle and found a vein in her arm to take a blood sample. I had to find out if there was anything in her blood stream that was causing this.

"You won't lose her! She's survived till now and she's a fighter, don't give up. Just finish the tests and then we'll figure out what to do," Ianto said firmly. I nodded, not used to taking orders from him but unable to think of anything better to do. I'm just glad I managed to keep steady enough to take a blood sample.

I ran through some quick tests on the blood with the ingenious technology we had hold of in Torchwood. I got answers pretty quickly and when I did my heart raced.

"No…!" I whispered in panic. I recognised the chemical name that was flashing up on the screen at once. It had been something we'd been faced with not long back – some alien chemical. It wasn't from Earth and it was a hell of a lot more deadly than anything planet Earth and to be honest, I was scared of it.

"What is it Owen?" Ianto asked me as he stood beside me looking at the results.

"Kalicunar Poison…" I said slowly with realisation of what was happening washing over my body like a cold veil, "She's… She's been poisoned!" I burst out, "It's terminal and there's not much I can do! It's… It's a slow acting poison and… and it's gonna eat her vital organs and… and…" I tailed off miserably. I couldn't carry on.

"I'll get the others," Ianto said to me after putting a comforting arm on my shoulder as he went to find Gwen and Tosh whom were dozing somewhere to pass the time. I hurried back over to Kayla and sat on the bed beside her and took her hand. It was slightly cold and I held it tight.

"Please… Please, baby, don't go… Don't. I… I…" I hesitated and took a deep breath, "I love you! Don't leave me! I know I've… I've only known you a few days but I love you! I really do! I've… I've never met anyone like you before… anyone else who understood… what it was like when I was a kid… and… and then I met you! Please! I became a doctor to help people! If… If I lose you then… then it's all been for… for nothing!"

So I cried. I hated the fact I did but I was in tears then. I had nothing else to do but watch her die as I'd seen the others infected with Kalicunar poison die.

"How is she? Gwen's trying to get hold of Jack," came Tosh's urgent voice from behind me. I looked at her and tried to stop the tears. Only babies cried – only the weak. That's what I'd been brought up to believe. I'd been punished for crying before and it sort of puts you off the idea after a while.

"She… She… I don't know what to do!" I cried desperately. My eyes widened and I held Kayla's hand tighter as Tosh put a comforting arm awkwardly around my shoulders.

"Calm down!" she said, "Ianto told me what happened on the way down here, "Have you tried a blood transfusion?"

I shook my head. It was a good idea but it wouldn't save Kayla. Kalicunar poison is traceable in blood but it doesn't travel via the bloodstream.

"It's in the nervous system and it's… It's…" I failed to finish my sentence and looked helplessly around the room.

"Eating her organs through nervous impulses," Ianto said solemnly. I bit my lip as I tried not to think about that fact. I couldn't let this kill Kayla. I'd already lost one woman I loved to bloody alien crap. My fiancée… I shook my head to shut out those memories. That's how I'd found Torchwood, but those days were long gone. I had no choice but to let them be gone.


	13. Tragic Pair

"We'll think of a way to save her," Tosh said. I hated the small note of uncertainly in her voice. There wasn't a way we could save Kayla. There was no cure for this sort of poison. I'd tried everything last time and the only result had been death anyway. Nothing I had in the Hub countered Kalincunar poison.

I set about cleaning and bandaging the wounds on her chest and wrists just for something to do in a vague hope that it would save her from death.

"We could try shocking her…?" Tosh asked tentatively after a moment's silence. I looked blankly at her for a second.

What d'you mean?" I asked carefully, "Like electric shock?"

"Yes. It'll travel down her nervous system and with any luck it might kill off the poison.

"Tosh, you're a genius!" I cried jumping up and kissing her cheek before running off to set about sorting out some sort of shocking device. I knew we had an external defibrillator somewhere in the Medical Bay.

"Will it hurt her?" Ianto asked, slightly fearfully.

"Dunno," Tosh said anxiously. It was worth a try anyway. I couldn't give up and let her die. If I did that I would be left regretting any possibilities I didn't try. It would be my fault if she died because I didn't try and save her.

"Yeah, I… I'll do it," I said coming to a conclusion.

"You sure?" Tosh asked me, concerned.

"Yes," I said firmly. This was my job at Torchwood. I found the defibrillators and pulled them out of the box. There were two pads and I looked at them for a moment trying to remember what I'd been trained to do. Everything I'd learnt seemed so far away now. It all seemed to be clouded by some sort of foggy shield. I mentally shook myself and got ready to do this.

"Owen you don't have to…" Tosh said holding out her hand to take the defibrillator from me. I shook my head.

"I'll do it," I said. I fixed the two pads on to her chest. It was one of those automated things that and it was designed to analyse her condition before shocking her if the need was necessary. I suddenly had a horrible thought that she wasn't displaying any irregular heart rhythms because she wasn't going into cardiac arrest. My blood ran cold and I bit my lip.

Maybe I could override it or something. I scanned over the instructions and frowned in concentration. I could feel Ianto and Tosh watching me and it was making me uncomfortable. Usually I wouldn't mind them being there but I was already worked up enough and I wasn't acting well under pressure today.

I thought for a moment and then pressed down a button on the defibrillator without waiting for it to give me instruction. I shut my eyes and hoped this would work. Suddenly when her body convulsed compulsively I had a horrible vision that she was going to die. I was shocking her heart when it didn't need it and I was going to kill her because I hadn't thought it through and then it would be all my fault that she was dead and I'd have to live in regret for years and years and she wouldn't come back ever and I'd have to go on without her like I'd had to do for everyone else I loved and then-

"Owen!" cried a familiar voice that sent me crashing out of my dizzy thoughts. She was alive.

"Kayla! Oh God, Kayla!" I said, tears flowing again as I took her hand again and held her close, "I… I thought I'd lost you!"

"Nah, you're not getting rid of me that easily," she said with a small smile. She struggled to sit up and put her arms around me.

"I…" I began uselessly without even knowing what I was going to say, "Good to have you back."

"Good to be back," she replied. It was then that I kissed her. It just seemed the right thing to do and I wanted so much to just stop time forever. I'd be happy enough to kiss her for the rest of eternity if it meant she wasn't going to get hurt again.

"Um… Owen?" Tosh probed from nearby. I started and looked around at her. I picked up a blanket from the unit and wrapped around Kayla so she was slightly more dignified. She smiled warmly at me and I was surprised by her composure after all that ordeal.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry," I said without really meaning it, "I… yeah… I'll look after her from here. Thanks guys."

"No problem," Ianto said before wandering back out of the Medical Bay.

"How you feeling Kayla?" Tosh asked before she left.

"Honestly?" she said, "Crap. But I'll cope. I always do. Somehow."

I didn't want her to just have to cope. I wanted to make things right for her. She didn't deserve to be treated like this.

"Well, if you need anything," Tosh said before walking out of the room with Ianto, "Oh and Gwen got you a change of clothes and stuff earlier on."

"Thanks," she said gratefully. Then she looked at me and sighed, "Why does shit like this always happen to me?"

"I dunno. But believe me, I'll make sure it doesn't happen again," I promised her. She was tracing the bandage on her wrist with her free hand. I was holding her other one still. Then she was crying with me.

"Hell, we're a tragic pair, aren't we," I said with a tearful laugh. Dammit I wasn't used to crying but now I was I couldn't help it.

"Tell me about it," she said rolling her eyes slightly. She slipped gently off the bed and wrapping her arms around me and covering us both with the blanket. I held her close and let her cry into my chest as my own tears streamed down my face.

"Owen?" she mumbled eventually.

"Hmm?"

"You sure you're happy with this?" she asked quietly. I was puzzled. I looked at her for a moment trying to work out what she was thinking as she turned her head up to fix her eyes on mine.

"With what?" I asked.

"Being with me," she said self-consciously. I nearly burst out laughing. She was so uncertain of herself. How could I not love someone as brilliant as her? She really knew me even though we'd only been together a few days and most of that was spent with her injured or missing.

"Kayla, of course I'm happy being with you! I can't imaging not being with you!"

"But I don't want you getting hurt because of me," she said almost apologetically. I brushed the stray hairs out of her eyes gently as I replied.

"There isn't anyone I'd rather get hurt for," I said firmly before changing the subject, "Lets take you to get cleaned up a bit."

I handed her a clean t-shirt from the bag in the corner that Gwen had got for her. I helped her slip it on and then helped her walk up the stairs.


	14. Video

**Author's Note: I'm sorry I took so long to update! I've been busy with school and things so haven't really had time. Also, I've got way too many stories running at once. Sorry!**

* * *

"We're going back to my house. Yours isn't safe yet. We're still not sure if that bastard's going to come back for you," I said as she shivered slightly, "Hey, Tosh I'm just going to take Kayla back to my place and-." I began as I saw her but broke of at the look on her face.

"You might want to see this, Owen," she said. She was standing beside her computer screen looking anxious.

"What is it?" I asked while I helped Kayla over to the computer. It was some sort of radar flashing around on the screen. I cocked my head slightly trying to make sense of the bleeping image I was looking at.

"They're landing," was all Tosh said.

"_What?" _Kayla squeaked, "The Master? He's coming here?"

"Looks like it. The thing is, he's heading to the bay. Towards the water," Tosh frowned, "It's like he's planning on going under it."

"Right, what can we do?" Kayla demanded determinedly. I stared at her in disbelief.

"Kayla…?" I said cautiously, "You don't have to carry on with this-."

"Yes, Owen, I do," she told me firmly, "Giving up now would be letting the Master win and I'm not doing that."

"You sure?"

"Yes," she replied, looking at me with sincerity in her eyes. She was brave, braver than anyone could ever have expected of her. Suddenly an alert flashed up on the screen and we all looked at it for a moment just taking in what it said. "New video file! New video file!"

"Gwen! Ianto!" I shouted and waited for my colleagues to appear back in the room.

"Jack's still not picking up his phone," Gwen said as she walked over to us with Ianto. There was a worried look in her eyes. We couldn't afford to be worrying about Jack right now. We had other things to worry about instead. Jack would be fine. He had to be. I told the others as much.

"But for now we need to think about ourselves. We just got this video through," I said to Gwen. She looked from me to the computer screen and then back again.

"I dunno what this is gonna be like," Tosh said slowly, "But I'm guessing it's from the Master. Do we want to watch it?"

"Yes," Kayla said, making the decision, "It might help us."

"Kayla-," I began, concern rising in my voice again.

"Owen! There is no need to worry about me! I've been through plenty of crap and this is something I need to do for the Doctor! For Jack! And I need to do it for myself!" she yelled at me. Her outburst startled me and I felt slightly stung. I understood what she meant though. It wasn't my place to stop her doing what she felt she needed to. I should just be there to help her when she needed it… to love her… And by hell I did.

"I'm not gonna stop try and change your mind but I'm worried about you, that's all," I said slowly. She nodded and squeezed my hand.

"I know," she said, "Sorry, it's just… after what he did I don't think I can walk away."

"Okay. But if it gets too much…" I said. She smiled weakly.

"Start the video," she said firmly to Tosh. I held her close and tightly. I didn't want her to watch this when we didn't know what the hell was in the damned thing. We all waited with baited breath as the screen turned black and began to load the video. I watched it load slowly to one hundred percent and bit my lip.

Then the screen filled with the face of a man I'd never seen before. He had brown hair and an-up-his-own-arse sort of smile. I hated him in an instant. Kayla flinched slightly and I felt her move away slightly.

"That's the Master…" Kayla whispered fearfully.

"I wouldn't run if I were you," the man on the screen said icily.

"Can you see us?" she demanded at once.

"Of course. New technology," he laughed. So was this was the Master…

"What you done to Jack and the Doctor? Let them go!" she snarled and I tightened my grip on her instinctively.

"Oh, you've got fire now do you?" he sneered, "Didn't anyone tell you that if you play with fire you get burnt? Oh, of course, you learnt that years ago didn't you? School don't really teach you that do they? You found out the hard way."

Hell, if I could I'd have torn that bastard's tongue straight from his mouth and stuffed it down his throat.

"Hmm, well you know what school taught me?" she snapped with her face flushing in anger, "I learnt that if you kick a man in the balls he cries."

I grinned slightly at her small triumph as the Master's face twisted in rage. Idiot.

"Well, let's go see your friends shall we?" the Master hissed in an attempt to regain the upper ground.

"If you've hurt them…" I growled heatedly.

"Oh? If I've hurt them what will you do?" he asked me with a taunting look in his eyes. I scowled and didn't reply. The Master was walking to the side and the camera was following him. Kayla shuddered slightly as the blood on the walls came into vision. My mouth fell open as I saw Jack and the Doctor. The Master knelt beside them with a near gleeful look in his eyes.

The Doctor had his arm around Jack. My Captain looked utterly exhausted and I bit back a heated comment. I wasn't used to seeing Jack like that. He was always the leader. He was always the one to pick us up off the ground when we needed it – even if we did shoot him from time to time. I smiled slightly as Jack winked at us in a sudden break through of the character I recognised.

"Always the actor…" the Master said softly to Jack but loud enough so we could all hear, "Never letting anyone see you for you."

"This is me and I'm not pretending to be anything I'm not," Jack snapped. I was slightly confused now.

"All this brave front; unbreakable… Untouchable… Invincible," the Master carried on, "But really you're bleeding inside. I can see that Jack. I learnt a lot about you when we and since we last met. And now? Now I think I understand you. When was the last time someone said to you "Jack, I understand"? When? They may say it but do they _really _understand what it's like to be immortal? To never die?"

Jack remained silence but I could see he was slightly scared. I wanted more than anything to go and kick the Master's ass and I tensed slightly. Yes, there were times when Jack didn't tell us everything that was on his mind, hell we didn't know half the things about his life but we were always there for him. We did understand!

"You think it's strong not to show fear, you too Doctor. You and Jack have so much in common. And I understand you both," the Master said quietly and soothingly. It was sickening to watch and feel so useless, "And I'm going to make you realise you're not untouchable. You're not invincible. I know how to hurt you, Jack."

"No!" I cried out. I wasn't alone in that exclamation; nearly everyone was shouting then.

"Aww, nice to feel loved isn't it Jack?" the Master laughed coldly, "How would you feel if I hurt… say, Mr Ianto Jones?"


	15. Drowning

"Don't you dare!" Jack hissed furiously. We all turned to look at Ianto.

"He can't," Gwen said firmly, "There's no way he can touch us here!"

"I wouldn't be so sure," the Master grinned, "There's always a way for me to hurt you. If I do this…" He pulled a gun out of the inside of his coat and aimed it at Jack. We all froze in horror and fear. Then the bang resounded in all our ears and though I wanted to, I couldn't close my eyes against what was happening. The shot hit Jack in the stomach and he cried out in pain. His eyes watered and the Doctor was babbling words of comfort in his ear. We could all tell that this wasn't the first time Jack had had bullets shoved in him in the last twelve hours or so.

"And I can make this worse for him…" the Master said calmly and tauntingly. I felt sick and I fought against the urge to throw up as the psychotic lunatic we were talking to pressed a dagger into Jack's chest. This wasn't right. It wasn't how things should be. When I was little I thought I'd seen enough of people being hurt and not being able to do anything. That's partly why I became a doctor! I wanted to help people and here I was, unable to help Jack when he was being tortured.

There were tears dripping from Kayla's eyes and when I noticed that I saw she wasn't the only one. Ianto was trembling violently beside me and was struggling to keep it together. I put my arm around his shoulders – an act that neither of us were used to but it just seemed right.

"You see, I have ways of hurting you from here!" the Master laughed as his eyes locked on Ianto.

"I'm gonna fucking kill you," I snarled. My voice was shaking and I couldn't raise it any more than a snarl.

"Oh really?" the Master laughed.

"We will, oh believe me, we will," Kayla growled, joining my threat.

"Kayla… Little Kayla," The Master shook his head as though she was a small child whom had disappointed him, "You shouldn't be so stupid. I can tear your life apart and you know I can."

"My life fell apart when I was very young. I learnt then that if I was going to survive I had to know how to say this. Rot. In Hell," she snarled, pronouncing each word with venom. Then she was running. She'd ducked past me and was running as fast as she could towards the tourist office exit. She was quite obviously in pain but she was struggling onwards anyway.

"Kayla get back here!" I shouted after her as I tore behind her. She slammed the tourist office door before I even had time to notice that. Well, I noticed it once I ran into the damned thing. I fell back with a jolt and tumbled to the floor in shock. I lay there in confusion for a moment before I managed to struggle to my feet.

Tosh was beside me now, checking I was okay while Gwen and Ianto were watching the video still. I was attacking the door in an attempt to get it open. It wouldn't. I was puzzled and desperate and I swore.

"Fucking door won't open!" I snapped as Tosh appeared beside me.

"Did you like that little trick?" the Master's drawl came from the computer. I spun around and ran over to it.

"What the hell did you do?" I demanded of him.

He smiled innocently, "Sent your little hidey-hole into lockdown."

"Bollocks," I cursed, "Tosh you can reverse it, can't you?"

"Working on it," she said nodding as she set about pressing various controls on numerous machines.

"But, Owen, by that time I will have Kayla! I'll have your lover!" the Master laughed as though he was just winning a great prize in a competition. My stomach lurched and I met his gaze defiantly.

"Kayla will never be yours," I said. The Master laughed again and with that he turned off the camera and the video stopped. I was left standing with the sick bastard's in my head. I shuddered and looked around helplessly.

Ianto was sitting on the sofa looking traumatised and Gwen was gently comforting him. I bit my lip and stood around watching Tosh trying to break out of the lockdown. It seemed to be taking forever and I was impatient. Character flaw, yes.

"We'll get her back," Tosh said softly to me.

I nodded, "I know," I said sadly, "Her, Jack and the Doctor. I'm just worried."

"You love her?" Tosh asked, looking at me sincerely for a moment. I pondered the question for a moment. I knew the answer but I wanted to think about how she made me feel for just one happy second more.

"Yeah. Yeah I think I do," I said eventually.

"I thought so," she smiled slightly. She also seemed to be ultimately disappointed. I frowned in confusion. I'd known she'd had a bit of a crush on me but was that still going on? Surely not. Anyway, I had Kayla. I would never be with Tosh. She would never be anything more than a friend to me - a great friend, but still just a friend.

"I hope things work out for you, Owen," she said with a warm smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Thanks," I said as I hovered around impatiently waiting for her to break the lockdown, "How long is this gonna take?"

"Not too long. I'm just running through the security codes now," she replied and I nodded. I paced around for a while just for something to do. Would Kayla be okay when I found her? Had the Master got hold of her again? Was he hurting her? All those unanswered questions were running through my mind and making me dizzy beyond belief.

After what felt like an eternity all the doors clicked open loudly. It took me a moment to realise what had happened and when I did I sprinted towards the tourist office. I heard someone call after me but I didn't hear nor care what they were saying to me. I just kept on running.

When I got out of the tourist office I hurried out along the bay. Then I saw her. She was standing by the edge of the water beside another man I didn't recognise. He had hold of her arm and she seemed to be struggling. I noticed her quick glance over her shoulder and I saw her eyes widen when she saw me.

"Owen!" she shouted before the man pushed her roughly forwards. She tumbled into the water and I cried out in panic. I quickened my pace to try and reach her and my breath was stinging every time I breathed in. I reached the edge of water and to my surprise the other man jumped in too. I didn't hesitate to throw myself in after them. I needed to help Kayla. She might drown and I couldn't let that happen.

The first thing I felt was extreme shock as the coldness of the water hit me. I felt wide-awake again. I forced myself to keep my eyes open to try and see Kayla through the clouds of the water. It was a failed attempt though. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't make out very much in the gloom of the water.

Suddenly it was as though a bubble had formed around me. I couldn't move in any direction. All I could do was thrash around trying futilely to reach the surface of the water. I needed to breathe badly. I could hear my blood pounding through my brain in a desperate attempt to keep me alive on very little oxygen. My heart was racing harder than ever but I couldn't open my mouth.

Then my mind started to go numb. I couldn't fight the need for oxygen much longer. My lungs were burning and the need to open my mouth was overcoming me. Although I knew I would breath in floods of water if I opened my mouth, my natural instinct was to open my mouth in order to breathe. The restrictive bubble was restricting the movement of my exhausted body and I eventually stopped struggling. My mind went numb and blank. Everything came to an end.


	16. Awake

Pain. That was the first thing I felt when I woke up. Then Kayla. I gasped her name as I breathed in and found my lungs blocked by water. I didn't even have time to register where I was before I was throwing up water onto the ground. I coughed and spluttered as the harsh liquid burned my throat and left my body. I could hardly breath in for water. It was everywhere. Then I collapsed on to the floor again – unable to keep things together.

Next time I woke up I was feeling crap. I was shivery and hypothermic and all I could feel was cold. My clothes were sodden and sticking to me to like leeches and I was uncomfortable.

"Owen?" a tentative voice came from behind me. I felt someone take my hand through all the numbness and I recognised her touch at once.

"K… Kayla?" I mumbled with difficulty, "Oh God Kayla! Are you alright?"

"I'm… I'm fine," she said with wide green eyes, "You?"

"I'm…" I began before thinking about the question. It was worse than a hangover. My head was pounding, everything was too bright and my mouth felt like sandpaper, "I've never felt this fucking screwed up."

She smiled slightly before hugging my close. It felt good. She was soaked too, she was covered in bloody but she'd said she was fine. At that moment my mind was like that of a small, small child; when an adult says something's okay, it really is okay.

We stayed like that for a long time. I wrapped my arm around her waist and buried my head in her shoulder. I would never let her get hurt again.

"Kayla? Owen?" another voice said eventually, "We're leaving."

I looked up and saw Jack. He looked tired and was covered in blood but I didn't really comprehend that fact. It was almost as though my brain was rejecting what blood meant. I couldn't even think that blood would mean someone was injured.

"How?" I asked Jack, "What about the Master?"

"He's dead Owen," Kayla said quietly. Then her voice started to shake, "I… I killed him!"

"No, Kayla. Don't think about it like that," Jack said firmly as he pulled me to my feet. I swayed for a moment and waited for everything to come back into focus. I put an arm around Kayla's shoulders both as a comfort to her and to steady myself. I noticed the Master's body lying slumped against a wall. Verdreht was dead too. I looked at the bodies without feeling very much. I was in an almost dreamlike state throughout the whole encounter.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said softly. So I lied.

"Right, we need to find out if there's any other life sources on this ship. Then we're going to find an escape pod. After we're in the escape pod, Tosh is gonna blow up this ship from the Hub," Jack explained to us as he busied himself with a computer nearby.

"Won't that affect the city?" Kayla asked," You're gonna cause an explosion-."

"They'll think it's a freak tidal wave," Jack said dismissively. I looked at Kayla and she sighed.

"What d'you want us to do?" I asked once I found my voice. I was beginning to shiver in the cold by then and I wanted nothing more than to be warm.

"I want both of you to take it easy," Jack said, "Owen, you nearly drowned. From what I heard Kayla had to save you."

"Jack you've had it bad too," Kayla frowned, "You can't say being killed and tortured over and over didn't hurt."

"No I never said that. But I'm your boss-," Jack began.

"Not mine," Kayla said defiantly.

"I am Owen's," Jack said with a sad smile. I couldn't argue with that, "Just be careful. I don't want either of you getting hurt any more."

"We won't," Kayla promised. Jack turned to go and do some computer work. He worked quietly without speaking and had a frown of concentration on his face. I watched him for a moment before turning to Kayla.

"You saved me?" I asked curiously. She loved me that much? But surely she'd do that for anyone. I was beginning to get my mind working more now but I was still struggling with the majority of things going on around me. Everything was fuzzy round the edges. I was still finding it a little to hard to breathe and I kept coughing.

"CPR," she said slowly, "The Master was drowning you and…"

"Yeah. I remember being drowned," I said quietly as I found myself shivering for a reason other than the cold, "I couldn't move… I was stuck and… and… it was horrible! I thought I was gonna die!"

"So did I," she admitted with a frightened expression in her eyes. She hugged me again, "He made me beg a bit before he let you go. And I had to do-."

"The Kiss of Life?" I asked with a small smile. She nodded. "Thanks Kayla."

"Anytime," she said. I can't believe the Master made her beg though. That was beyond disgusting and it was all because of me. I felt guilty and I wanted nothing more than to erase the last few hour's memories.

Then Jack interrupted us, "There's nobody else on the ship. It was set on automatic. No crew anywhere. That's a bit odd don't ya think?"  
"Maybe," Kayla said, "I'm not an expert on alien spaceships."

"Hell neither am I," I said, "They vary too much." Then Kayla looked at me like I'd just grown another head. I smiled at her and laughed softly.

"Right… Tosh?" Jack said looking at the screen on the computer. Tosh was standing in the Hub and I guessed this was how the Master had managed to talk to us earlier on, "We're looking for an escape pod. I'll tell you when we've found one. Then you're going to give us twenty minutes to get out because we don't know how this ship's going to react to having an escape pod launched. Be ready."  
"Be careful Jack," Tosh urged. Jack nodded as he looked over a map on another computer screen. I watched in mild bemusement.

"There!" Jack said pointing suddenly at the screen, "There's an escape pod in the next room. Tosh, I've found it! Start the program. Now!" Then the Captain turned and ran over to where the Doctor lay unconscious on the floor. In one fluid motion he scooped him up and slung him over his shoulder. Then he haphazardly used a whirring silver metal device thing to open a door to the next room. The little blue bulb on the device flashed and I found it oddly amusing.

The door sprang open within seconds and we piled through the door. I had my arm around Kayla and we helped each other forwards. I was struggling to keep going because my body was tired and I really wanted to lie down and just go to sleep.

When we got through the door we looked around and Jack swore. We were in a little room filled with metal door hatches on every wall.

"Looks like this could be what you call a hallway of a spaceship," I said looking around feeling slightly hopeless. "Just open them all."

"Remember we don't know what security protocols are in place here," Jack reminded us and I nodded mutely before struggling to open a door near to me.

"Nothing here," said Kayla from the door at the other side of the hall.

"Nothing," I repeated for my own door. I wasn't really taking in what was on the other side of the door other than that it wasn't an escape pod.

"Got it!" Jack suddenly announced. I looked around in a daze and clambered in to the pod after Jack. There were two pilot seats at the front with a set of controls. Kayla and I sat on the floor in the small space behind the pilots – probably an area designed for luggage. She put her head down on my shoulder and instinctively I rested my head on hers. I felt safe.


	17. Back To The Hub

**Author's Note: Really sorry about how long it took to update this!**

* * *

It wasn't long before the pod broke through the surface of the water. I kept my eyes closed until I felt us settle on solid ground. I was feeling quite nauseous and tried to stop myself from stumbling as we dragged ourselves out of the door. We were standing beside the door of the tourist office.

"We've made it!" Kayla breathed as Jack struggled to get out of the pod with the Doctor.

"You're right Kayla, we've made it," the Captain said with a small smile, "Let's get inside."

I nodded and opened the door of the office and walked inside. Ianto and Tosh greeted us in the doorway almost instantly.

"Jack!" Tosh said with a relieved expression. Ianto just watched us anxiously and opened the entrance to the Hub. I took Kayla's hand and led her through.

"Thank God…" Gwen breathed as she saw us come in.

"We're going to the Med Bay, Gwen," Jack said, "Give us a hand?"

"Sure," she replied with a nod and followed him. Kayla and I stumbled along behind. I still felt dazed and confused. It was unusually disorientating being in the Hub. Ianto came along and wrapped a warm white towel around my shoulders. I looked blankly at him and he smiled sadly.

"I think you should take that wet stuff off," Gwen said to Kayla as she noted her sodden clothes. "Same with you Owen."

"Whatever," was all I managed to mumble. It was becoming a struggle to keep my eyes open now. I dimly felt Ianto take my arm and drag me off to the bathroom. He sat me down on the closed toilet seat and told me to wait for a moment while he went to get dry clothes for me.

Normally I'd object to someone helping me get dressed but right now I just couldn't be arsed to be honest. I was kinda glad to be dry and warm again and that was all I cared about. I looked up when Ianto walked back into the room with the change of clothes I kept in the Hub. I didn't even wonder how he'd gotten the key to my locker till much later. I numbly let Ianto help me get changed as though I was a small child. It felt good to actually be cared about but of course I would never tell Ianto that.

"Are you feeling alright Owen?" Ianto asked after I was silent for a long time.

"Hmm? Oh…" I said, fumbling for the words.

My colleague looked at me for a moment before speaking, "I think you need a cup of coffee," he said. I smiled weakly and nodded.

"Thanks Ianto," I said as he half-dragged me out of the bathroom. I was wearing a pair of tracksuit bottoms and a shirt. Dry. Warm. Sleepy…

Ianto sat me down on the sofa and I curled up and hugged my knees. It wasn't long before Ianto returned with a cup of coffee. He put it down on the little table beside me and I smiled weakly in thanks. I didn't move for a long while. I was too dazed and tired to do anything other than sit there.

Then Kayla came in with Gwen. She was wearing a pair of thick pink pyjamas and looked just as tired as I felt. I grinned at her and she returned the smile.

"Owen," she whispered before hurrying over to me and throwing her arms around my neck. I laughed and it felt good. I'd been through so much crap and now all I wanted to do was laugh it all off and pretend nothing was wrong. I noticed Gwen walked quietly into the Medical Bay to speak to Jack and I was quite grateful for some privacy.

"Thank God you're okay," I said softly in her ear, "I thought I was gonna lose you!"

"Owen, I thought… I thought I was gonna lose you too! And… And…" she babbled, "I don't know what I'd have done if I had!"

"You'd have-," I began but she cut across me.

"I love you," she said looking into my eyes with a serious expression.

"I love you too," I replied kissing her gently. My lips felt at home with hers and I felt as though I had known this girl all my life. She was like my very soul and that wasn't something I ever said until then.

"Sorry to break up the happy couple," Jack's voice cut into my thoughts. I broke away from Kayla and glared at him. Tired as I was, I was still able to let him know of my irritation.

"What?" I snapped. Jack didn't comment on my tetchiness and I was kinda glad it didn't escalate into an argument.

"You could both do with rest," Jack said, "You want to go home Kayla?"

"She's staying with me for a while," I said before Kayla spoke. Jack nodded.

"That's probably for the best," he said. Then he pulled a small packet out of his pocket. I frowned slightly and then realised what it was. I felt my eyes widen in shock and I started at my boss in disbelief.

"Jack!" I whispered, "Don't."  
"Don't?" Jack said, looking surprised. Kayla was looking between us in confusion and I glared heatedly at Jack.

"Retcon! Jack, you can't!" I pleaded.

"What's retcon?" Kayla asked tentatively.

"It's a drug – an amnesia pill. Makes you forget," I said without taking my eyes off of the Captain. I held Kayla's hand tightly and silently willed Jack to turn around and bugger off. His expression changed to realisation as he figured out what was bothering me.

"I'm not giving it to anyone unless they want it," Jack said firmly, "Would you want it Kayla? Would you want to forget Torchwood and the last few days?"

"What?" she said in bewilderment. I could see her thinking over the question with something close to longing.

"You'd forget everything about the last few days," I said to her in a bid to make her understand, "You would forget me too. And everything we… did." I felt tears pressing against my eyes. I couldn't lose her now, after all this. I wasn't going to let Jack's stupid drug take her from me.

"No," Kayla said firmly. Jack grinned at her and relief washed over me.

"I was hoping that's what you'd say," he said happily. I ignored the single tear that strayed down my cheek.

"What now? What happens now?" Kayla asked.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow. Get some sleep now," Jack said with a small smile as Ianto appeared beside him clutching two steaming mugs of hot chocolate. He pressed one into my hands and did the same to Kayla.

"Chocolate works for the girls, Owen," Ianto said with a sly grin, "Figured you might like to give it a shot."

I rolled my eyes, "Thanks," I said eventually. That was the usual sort of atmosphere that existed between Ianto and I and I was glad it was back. I took a few sips and let the liquid warm my body. I almost instantly began to feel drowsy. I yawned and my eyes watered slightly. Somebody took the mug out of my hands as my head drooped.

"Hell, Ianto, I said just a little bit of sedative; not enough to knockout an elephant!" was the last thing I heard Jack say before I fell asleep.


	18. Undercover Agent

**Author's Note: I hope the New Year brings great things for you!**

* * *

I woke up lying on my side with Kayla in front of me. My head hurt and I had a sore throat. My arm was around her waist and she was leaning back against me.

"Kayla…?" I whispered quietly.

"Hmm?" she murmured as she rolled over to face me. She looped her arms around me neck and rested her head against mine. I lay there in silence with my eyes shut for a few more moments and just let myself exist with her beside me.

"You two awake now?" I heard the familiar voice of Jack Harkness say from the doorway.

"I guess so," I mumbled sleepily.

"Mmm," Kayla said softly, "What time is it?"

"Eight in the morning," Jack replied at once.

I did a double take, "Eight in the morning? But…"

"You've been out nearly twenty four hours," Jack said with a small smile, "Strong sedative. You should probably eat something now." He then helped Kayla and I to our feet and I suddenly realised I was starving. I was grateful when Ianto appeared with a carried bag full of sandwiches from the little bakery down the road from here.

"God, I'm gonna come to the Hub for breakfast more often!" Gwen laughed as she took a paper bag from Ianto. I picked up a bacon sandwich and ate it quietly. I didn't really feel much like talking. Everything was becoming very, very real and I just wanted to cry about it all now. I don't like crying though. I can't look weak in front of the others but I so badly needed to let out all the built up emotion.

"Kayla?" Jack said eventually once we were all finished eating, "Can I speak to you?"

"Yeah, course," she replied and got up from the table. She smiled at me as she walked out with Jack and I returned the gesture. I watched them go and felt Gwen's eyes on me. I didn't like the feeling that they were expecting me to say something.

I looked around at them and raised an eyebrow, "What?" I demanded.

"Owen, are you alright?" Gwen asked curiously. I nodded quietly and helped myself to another sandwich. She didn't really believe me but I didn't add anything else to my sentence. Hell I was tired and I couldn't be bothered too much with conversation. Gwen smiled and got up to do something or other. I sighed and buried my head in my hands. I didn't really care that Tosh and Ianto were still watching. They didn't say anything though and I was glad for that.

Ten minutes later Gwen was back in the room with an excited expression, "Owen, guess what!"

"Huh?"

"It's Kayla," she said happily, "Jack wants her to join Torchwood!"

I stared at my colleague for a moment with a blank expression and she laughed slightly, "Seriously?"

"Yeah," she said, "They're just coming out of the office now!" She walked forwards and took my arm, tugging me out of my chair. Normally I'd have been a bit annoyed at her pulling me around but right then I didn't care much. I hurried from the boardroom towards Jack's office and found Kayla, Jack and the Doctor standing outside talking. She was hugging the Doctor tightly and then she took a step back – just in time for me to fling myself at her and hug her.

"Is it true?" I asked, "Gwen said Jack wants you to join the team!"

"Yes!" she said grinning widely and hugging me tightly.

"God, Kayla that's brilliant!" I exclaimed happily. I was euphoric. I could barely stand still.

"Meet our new Undercover Agent and Public Relations officer," Jack said with a slightly amused expression at my delight.

"Bloody hell!" I said softly as I kissed her fiercely. It just felt so good to be kissing her again in a happy situation rather than one where we both feared for our lives.

"Owen, Kayla, not now," Jack coughed slightly. He was trying very hard to keep his voice serious I smirked at him when I broke away from Kayla, "Or I might be forced to join you."

"Jack!" the Doctor said in an almost despairing way. Well, we have to deal with Jack Harkness every single day. I don't know why he's complaining.

"Well, I'm going," I said eventually, "I'm taking Kayla back to mine. We both need to get cleaned up and everything."

"'Kay Owen," Jack nodded, "Take the day off. Take some time to recuperate properly. Come back when you're ready."

"You mean that?" Owen asked incredulously, "You're not gonna call us at some God-forsaken hour in the morning demanding we come into work?" When you work for Jack you begin to expect him to phone you at three in the morning and demand you get into work because there's been a Weevil attack or something. It really is ridiculous.

"No, would I ever?" Jack asked with a mischievous smile.

I rolled my eyes, "Yes." Then I took Kayla's hand and led her towards the tourist office. She was still wearing her pyjamas but they looked enough like a casual tracksuit to get away with it. Besides, nobody cared.

It was raining when we got outside. Typical Welsh weather, huh? I hate rain. It's just irritating. When we reached my car we sat in it for a while and just watched the rain in companionable silence.

"Bloody Welsh weather," I grumbled.

She laughed, "Scotland wasn't much better when I lived up there."

"Just Britain, eh?" I smiled. I guess it's just one of those things."

"Yeah," she agreed, "And can we stop at my house for a bit first? I want to pick up a few things.

"Yeah sure," I agreed as I started up the car and began to drive away towards her house.

"I just want to pick up my fifty something pairs of shoes," she said absently looking out of the window.

I looked at her in confusion, "What?"

"And al my six boxes of makeup – all of it's essentials you know," she told me quite seriously.

"Kayla?"

"Oh! And my Chihuahua!" she said grinning happily, "Charlie's been looking after him for me."  
"Please tell me you don't have a Chihuahua…" I said despairingly as I turned a corner a little to quickly and making the car squeal in protest.

She turned to look at me and then burst out laughing, "Do I look like the "hoards-of-makeup-and-a-yowling-barking-Chihuahua" type of girl?" she asked me.

"No… I didn't think you were that type of girl," I said smiling slightly after letting out a low sigh of relief, "You're gonna make a good Undercover Agent if you can lie that well!"

"Thanks," she said with a self-satisfied grin.


	19. The Burden Of Torchwood

**Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to update. Exams.**

* * *

She fell silent again as we reached the end of her street. She started fidgeting anxiously with the cuff of her sleeve.

"You okay?" I asked, concerned.

"Yeah," she mumbled uncertainly.

Somehow I knew was wrong, "Like I said, Tosh and Ianto gave this place the all clear," I reminded her, "There's no threat whatsoever."

"Really?" she said, looking at me with obvious terror in her eyes.

"Really," I confirmed and she smiled at me. I drew the car up outside her house and we looked at it for a moment before getting out and walking together towards the door. She fumbled with the house key and I took it from her and quickly unlocked the door. With a slight hesitation on her part, we crossed the threshold into the hallway and then she seemed a lot more lively and animated. She dumped her bags in the living room and pressed the flashing alert button on her answering machine.

"You have four new messages. Message one." Said the automated female voice on the machine.

"Hello Lia, this is Dennis," came a heavy Irish voice on the line. "Where the hell have you been girl? Mr Pecan was phoning to say you never turned up to interview him! You better sort this out now, woman."

"My boss," Kayla sighed, looking at me helplessly.

"Sounds like a nice bloke," I said sardonically. She rolled her eyes as if to say "tell me about it." Seriously, maybe there are bosses worse than Jack! And I thought I was hard done by stuck with a flirting, secretive git. Seems like Kayla had it worse.

"Message two."

"Hey L… Kayla," said a voice I didn't recognise. I looked at Kayla for a moment but she was listening intently to the message, while clearing up a stack of newspapers from the coffee table. I listened as the voice on the answering machine carried on. "Hell I'm never gonna get used to this. Yeah, it's Charlie. But I just wanted to see if you were okay after all that stuff you were telling me about the other day? And if you wanted to meet up with me later? We could go get chips or something. Call me back when you get this. Bye!" Charlie was mentioned by Ianto at one point. I remember that now. She was Kayla's best girl friend.

"Message three."

"Lia Baxter! You better get back to work this instant or at least phone me to say what the fuck you're playing at! You can't just stop coming to work for no reason! Get your arse over to my office immediately if you value your job!" it was her boss again. Bloody hell. I am so not working for him. If I did, I'd have broken his neck within an hour. I don't like bossy, stuck up idiots.

"Well, least you don't work for him anymore!" I laughed slightly. I still couldn't quite believe she was with Torchwood now.

"Yeah," she agreed looking more than a little pissed off, "Idiot. All he cares about is getting the job done. But maybe I should have called him-."

"Message four," the metallic voice interrupted her.

"Kayla? It's Charlie. Are you alright? It's just… It's just you didn't call me back? What's going on, honey? Please call me."

"End of messages."

She bit her lip and looked miserable, "You mind if I call her back now?" she asked. I could tell she was feeling guilty about not talking to Charlie.

"No problem," I said, "Can I use the kettle?"

"On you go," she said picking up the phone and using it to point across the hallway to the kitchen. I wandered off, leaving her to call her friend. She went off to her bedroom to talk to Charlie in private and I watched her go smiling slightly. She really was beautiful. I filled the kettle up quickly and then waited for it to boil. I noticed an abandoned newspaper on the worktop. I glanced at it and then realised it was one of her articles. Curious, I picked it up and began to read. She really was a good journalist. I was very impressed at how she simply managed to make the most boring story exciting. The article was about some garden plant or other died. The owner was distraught. Shame. I'm sure he'll live.

I made myself a cup of coffee and wandered back through to the living room and sat down on the sofa with the paper. I flicked through it and failed to find anything interesting in it. Seriously, nothing happens in Kayla's little village. There are actually stories about people coming up with new ways to drink tea and "exciting" garden weeds. Bored, I pulled out my mobile phone from my pocket where I'd put it earlier on. I had a message from Gwen. Frowning slightly, I opened it up shut my eyes. Did she _have _to tell me that? Why couldn't they have asked me before they run off and mess with my girlfriend's friend's head? Urgh.

"Owen?" came Kayla's voice suddenly from behind me.

I looked up and put the paper down, "Hmm?"

"Why doesn't Charlie remember anything I told her the other day?" she asked quietly. There was an odd look in her eyes and I b it my lip slightly. She came and sat down beside me on the sofa, watching me closely all the while. I didn't really know how to explain this.

"Ah…" I said uselessly.

"Ah?" she repeated suspiciously.

"Yeah. Well, Gwen told Ianto that you told your mate about how you're alien and all that. And Tosh... Tosh thought it'd be best if people didn't know," I said, thinking back to what Gwen's text message had said.

"So she's been made to forget?" she asked, wide-eyed and shocked.

"Retcon. Yeah," I said slowly, "I'm sorry. But she can't know about Torchwood. Nobody can. Except us, nobody else really knows what we do."

"She doesn't know and I can't tell her?" she whispered quietly.

"That's the burden of Torchwood," I said bitterly. I took her hand and smiled weakly, "And that's why I'm so glad to have you."


	20. Only One For Me

Kayla went to have a shower to gather her thoughs for a moment. I totally understood how she must be feeling. I remember my confusion about Torchwood. Hell, I've always been confused about that job. One day it's the best job in the world and I can't imagine doing anything different but the next day, I hate it with a passion. Seriously, there's a lot that annoys me about Torchwood but also so much I love about it.

I looked blankly at the newspaper again without really seeing it. I heard the water running upstairs in the bathroom and sighed. Would she stay with Torchwood? Would she really? She was strong but what if she decided she'd had enough of us? She wouldn't? Would she? She'd been hurt a lot and I couldn't help but blame myself. I was sorry she had to be involved in all of this but there was also the selfish part of me that was glad she was.

After a while she came back into the room and sat down beside me again. Her hair was wet and an occasional drip landed on the pale blue of her t-shirt.

"Owen," she said slowly and carefully, "I want you to tell me what you think about Torchwood. Honestly."

"Kayla, of all the people I've met, you'd be the last person I'd lie to," I said with a small smile.

"Tell me," she urged, her hand falling onto the sofa and brushing against mine.

I looked down at our hands and sighed before talking, "Torchwood... It's great. It's really amazing," I began. She listened attentivly with an interested expression. "I've changed a lot since joining and I couldn't go back from there. I feel like I... Like I found myself a bit when I became Torchwood's doctor. But the thing is I... I've seen so much but I can't talk to anyone besides the team about it. It can get suffocating and... But the more importantly, I dunno where I'd be if I hadn't found Torchwood."

And I meant every word. I took her hand in mine and rubbed the back of it with my thumb.

"Do you ever want to talk to other people about it?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah. Yeah I do. But I can't. Torchwood's a secret organisation and it was to stay that way. But there comes a time when you really don't feel you can tell people. The majority wouldn't believe you. I mean, seriously, if you didn't know what my job was would you believe me if I said "Hey, Kayla, I run around catching aliens for a living!"?" I replied. I laughed slightly as I imagined that scenario. I'd be looked up by the authorities and locked in a white padded cell.

"Probably not," she admitted laughing with me, "But nobody can ignore all the evidence! The Christmas Star? The Cyberman Invasion? There's been so much to prove aliens are real!"

"But people do deny it. People don't accept that because they're scared. They keep running and hiding and pretending it isn't real," I said. I could think of many more times when people hide from things because they don't make sense. When I was a kid I used to try so hard to make the world make sense, and when it didn't, I'd ignore it and hide from it. Didn't do me any good.

I carried on, "That's when it's good to have someone who understands, someone you can really talk to about all of it. You know, someone who won't laugh if I say I'm scared or whatever." Because right now, I'm scared as hell. Of everything.

"You'll always have me," she said softly squeezing my hand gently, "Torchwood's not something I think I could leave." That's exactly how I feel. There's no way any of us can leave it alive.

"So you're going to stay?" I asked hopefully.

"Yep," she said grinning. "Now I'm gonna go pack some stuff."

I nodded. "Mind if I use you're shower?" I asked. I felt dirty. Blood and water didn't do much for me feeling comfortable or forgetting what had happened.

"Feel free!" she said smiling. "And I've got a change of clothes if you want. Zack's about the same size as you."

My heart leapt to my throat. "Zack?" I asked, alarmed. Surely he wasn't a boyfriend? Or a finace or something? I tried to tell myself I was being ridiculous..I tried to make a joke out of it, "I thought you were an attractive single femal living alone?"

Realisaton dawned on her face and she started giggling. "Zack's just a friend! We met at school and he crashes here sometimes." She was rummaging through her wardrobe and I was glad she wasn't looking at me. My face must have looked stupidly relieved. She'd be really annoyed at me for even thinking she had a husband or something.

"Just a friend?" I checked. My voice sounded a stupid sort of casual.

"Uh huh," she said, "He's not my type. Or more, I'm not _his _type." She smiled to herself at that and I looked blankly at her.

"Oh?" I said uselessly, "So-."

"He's gay," Kayla cut across me.

"Right," I said laughing in relief. She rolled her eyes at me before dumping a pair of jeans in my arms. "And he won't mind me borrowing these?"

"Hell no! They're mine actually," she laughed. So then I was _really _confused. And she noticed. "I've got a huge supply of men's clothing in my house. Zack usually appears here with little other than a toothbrush so it's down to me to keep him in presentable clothes for the while he's here!"

"So I don't need to worry about him then?" I chuckled. I was glad of the lighter atmosphere after our talk about Torchwood and I felt more relaxed.

"Nope," she smiled, "You're the only one for me."


	21. Talking

**Author's Note: Guess who's on Midterm now! Yay! I'll be able to update heaps this week!**

* * *

We just spent the rest of the day just lounging around watching DVDs on the sofa at my house. It was nice just lying there together quietly and just existing. I was glad she understood what I'd been through and I didn't have to hide anything from her. It felt good having someone really know what happened in my life and caring. I know the rest of the team care, but they don't come home with me. I never had this sort of love at home.

"You want to order a Chinese?" I asked at about seven in the evening. My arm was around her waist and her hand was resting on mine.

"Yeah, might was well," she agreed. I reached for the phone and ordered out meal. They could deliver it to us because there is no way in hell I was going anywhere. I was tired and basically couldn't be bothered.

We settled down to watch some prime-time drama while we waited for our meal. I wasn't really following the story line. My mind kept drifting back to Kayla and how much I cared for her. I kept remembering how scared I'd been when I thought I'd lost her. I _couldn't _lose her.

I was dragged from my thoughts when the doorbell went. I struggled lazily to my feet and hurried through to the door. A young teenager was standing holding the brown paper bags containing our dinner. I grabbed my wallet from a shelf in the hall and handed him the appropriate notes and thanked him.

We sat at the table and ate our meal together. I wasn't really in the mood for talking. I just let her speak to me and listened to the sound of her voice. There was a definite Scottish lilt to her accent, mixed with a sort of Welsh tone, probably developed by living here.

"You okay?" she asked suddenly, putting her fork down and looking at my curiously across the table.

"What?" I asked, bewildered before coming back to reality, "Oh. Yeah."

"You sure? You just seem a bit... off," she said slowly.

I sighed and put my fork down. I buried my head in my hands, sighing. "It's just..." I couldn't say it. I couldn't. I've _never _liked talking about my feelings and I wasn't used to it.

"Take your time," she said gently and encouragingly.

"I... I don't want you to take this the wrong way," I tried again.

She frowned slightly. "What?"

Oh no. "It's not that! No!" I said urgently, catching on to what she probably thought I was going to say. Did she think I was going to break up with her? I mentally kicked myself for being an idiot.

"What is it?"

"I... I'm scared, Kayla," I admitted, swallowing my pride whole and chucking it in the bin. So _not _something I'd do for anybody.

"Hi?" she asked carefully, taking my hand and holding it tight.

"It's just... Before you I had... I had-," I struggled.

"You had others?" she asked.

"Yeah. Yeah I did. I loved them, Kayla. I really did," I said, lost in memories, "But things happened and... And I don't want to lose you like I lost them." I couldn't go through what happened with Katie again. I couldn't have her run away from me like Diane did. I couldn't do it.

"You're not going to lose me," she said firmly, smiling slightly, "So long as you want me here, I'll always be around."

"Yeah," I said feeling stupidly embarrassed. Dammit, I _hate _talking about me. "God Kayla, I feel like I needed to tell you how I felt and I dunno, just," I babbled.

"I don't mind," she said smiling, "I'm glad you told me."

"I'm bloody terrified though!" I said, a small smile playing at my lips as I had the stupidest thought that seemed to put everything into context. Me, Doctor Owen Harper, scared about love when I face life threatening aliens every other day. "I just... I just wanted you to know that I did love them, and I lost them. And... And it hurt. I don't want to go through that again."

"I don't want to lose you either," she admitted.

"It's like Torchwood, I guess," I laughed slightly.

"Scared but not able to walk away," she whispered, eyes wide.

"Exactly," I nodded. We sat in silence for a few more moments and just thought through our conversation.

Then I was distracted by the radio presenter on the station we were listening too. "This is a request for Max MacDougall from Scotland, on holiday in Cardiff. He would like us to play this song to remind him of the Ceilidh dances back home. This is the Military Two-Step for Max, ladies and gentlemen!" Then the powerful dance music came on to the radio and I smiled.

"Miss Jacobs? Would you do me the honour of this dance?" I asked, getting to me feet and offering her my hand.

"Why, Mr Harper! That would be lovely," she said, catching on to my game and taking my hand.

"You know this dance, miss?" I asked, in a falsely polite voice.

She nodded, "Indeed I do, sir," she said. "I'm from Scotland, so we were taught this dance at school.

"Thought I recognised the accent," I said as we danced. I hadn't a clue really how to do the steps but Kayla seemed pretty familiar with it so I just copied what she did. It was fun anyway - I do, after all, know how to improvise. When the music ended I bowed low and smiled. "I do thank you for that dance, miss. The man you fall for is a very luck man."

"As I am to find a man to fall for," she replied as I pulled her closer to me again. I naturally leant forwards and kissed her gently. I felt that buzzing sensation that becomes familiar but isn't something you can get used to.

"Would your lover mind if I borrowed you for the night?" I asked, keeping up the role playing game.

She smirked slightly, "My lover would be delighted," she whispered as my arms snaked around her waist. Again, I pressed my lips to hers and kissed her softly. I loved her more than anything and I knew she felt the same. I was glad I'd told her how I was feeling because now we had no secrets. There was nothing I was hiding. We understood each other now.


	22. The Night Out

**Author's Note: For some good friends, whom I hope are alright. And Cee, who helped inspire me to write the original version of this chapter - the one in Kayla's point of view.**

* * *

The next day Jack called at about two in the afternoon. "How you doing?" he asked. I could tell he was concerned about us - particularly Kayla. I mean, I'd been through stuff like this before. She hadn't.

"Yeah, we're alright," I said smiling at Kayla sprawled lazily on the sofa in her pyjamas. I was wandering around in my tracksuit trousers because I couldn't really be bothered getting dressed properly. And I'm pretty sure Kayla didn't mind me wandering around topless.

"Good to hear," Jack said cheerfully. "Are you up for a night out then? To welcome Kayla to the team?"

"What you got in mind?" I asked, instantly suspicious. The first rule of working in Torchwood was to be wary of everything Jack suggests.

"Oh, you know. The pub?" he said. I could tell he was hiding something but I didn't think I had a chance of wheedling it out of him. He can be pretty stubborn.

"Yeah? Well, I'm sure we could manage that," I said grinning at Kayla's curious expression.

"Great! We'll come get you around seven," Jack replied happily. With that, he hung up the phone. I rolled my eyes and put the phone back on the charger.

"Kayla? You up for a night out with the team? Welcome party?" I asked.

"Yeah, why not?" she smiled. I could tell she wasn't one for lying around all day. It'd be good for both of us to get out again. Okay, we'd only be home for a day or so but you know. It'll be good to have a laugh with the team after all the crap we've been through.

True to his word, the Jack and the SUV turned up at seven on the dot. Then it was time for Kayla to experience Jack's maniac driving. I wouldn't be surprised if she ran for the hills soon as she got a hundred yards in the SUV.

She looked stunning. She was wearing a lovely pale blue knee-length dress. I clearly wasn't the only one to notice. When we were queuing up outside the pub, a man was leering at her. I wanted to hit him.

"Hey there, baby," he said sickeningly.

"You talking to me?" Kayla asked raising her eyebrows.

"Uh huh," he said, "Nice dress. And I'm Samson."

"Thanks," she said casually. I watched tensely before Kayla spoke again, "My boyfriend said that too."

"Boyfriend?" Samson repeated. His eyes widened and he looked instantly uncomfortable.

"Yep, this is Owen," Kayla said, slipping her hand into mine.

Samson noticed me for the first time and the awkwardness swelled. "Oh... Hi."

"Hands off, buddy,"I said firmly before putting my arm around her and leading her after the team into the pub. It was then I noticed the sign on the door proclaiming a "Ten Till Two Karaoke Bash". Oh dear. This might be embarrassing. A group of girls were already jumping around singing something by Shania Twain. "Lets go grab a drink?" I suggested and Jack nodded, leading us across the room to the bar.

We hardly got to sat down before the DJ made an announcement. "Right, and this one's for "Jack Harkness and Co"! This is _Trouble _by Shampoo! Come on guys, up you get!" he said scanning the room for us.

Jack grinned. I glared at him. He smirked and leapt up and dragged us over to the stage. I sang along quietly in the background. There was no doubt the song was true to us. But I had had nowhere near enough alcohol in me at that point.

Kayla frowned slightly as the song ended and trotted over to the DJ and whispered something to him. The DJ laughed and nodded. She returned to me contentedly and smiled. She didn't tell me what she'd done and I was instantly curiously. I hoped she hadn't volunteered me for something.

I found out she hadn't. The DJ called for Samson - the man from outside and he was forced to do a rendition of _Barbie Girl. _The man looked so embarrassed.

"Result," Kayla laughed, giving me a high-five. What surprised us then, was Jack dragging Ianto up on to the stage to join in. Poor tea-boy looked mortified.

"_I'm a blond bimbo girl! In a fantasy world!" _Jack sang practically bouncing up and down. When Ianto started singing I ended up doubled up laughing. It was just hilarious seeing them making fools of themselves. Except the ladies were all screaming for Jack. It was frightening actually. They were all bouncing around yelling his name. One actually fainted when he winked at her.

I joined in for the _Macarena _and the _YMCA _before having an incredible idea. I told the DJ and then went back to sit with Kayla and the others at our table, swigging my beer again.

"This one's from Owen Harper for his team mates Jack Harkness and Ianto Jones," the DJ announced and the girls went nuts. I shook my head in disbelief. Ianto looked terrified and gulped his whisky down in one.

"This is _Bad Touch _by the Bloodhound Gang!" the DJ said.

"Oh yeah!" Jack grinned laughing jumping onto the stage, _"Ah ha! Well now! We call this the act of mating! But there are several other very important differences between humans and animals that you should know about!" _Jack said before the drumbeat came in forcefully. "_I'd appreciate your input!"_

We all wolf-whistled and Jack winked at us. Most of the audience were singing along by the chorus. Jack was doing some sort of bizarre dance to the music and I noticed several video cameras recording this. I'd have to check out the Internet and find it later.

What surprised me was when Jack jumped down and dragged the rest of us up onto the stage with him and we had to join in with that stupid song. It was funny though, it made us laugh. And when I saw the smile on Kayla's face at the end of the piece, I just had to kiss her. So I did. Hell, I love Torchwood nights out.


	23. New Adventure

**Author's Note: See, look! Updated! **

* * *

I returned to work the following Monday. It was Kayla's first day and it was great. She'd quit her job and had settled in at mine fine. I'd never felt so happy in a long time. It was a good sign when her car was now sitting beside mine outside.

"Good to have you back!" Jack said, clapping me on the back as I walked into the Hub with Kayla. He too her arm and led her over to her new desk. I had to laugh at her because she was stupidly excited about the hole-punch on the desk. When I asked her, apparently she hadn't had one at her old work. Well, I doubt her old boss provided much more than a pen. He just seems the stingy sort.

"We're working on a case," the Captain said to both of us once Kayla was sorted.

I raised my eyebrows curiously, "What we got so far?"

"Death at a local hotel. Not _quite _as "normal" as it's made out to be."

"Normal?" Kayla repeated, bewildered. I had to smile at her confusion.

Jack carried on without acknowledging her, "She started trying to kill everyone around. Then her body exploded," he said with a wince.

"What the hell?" Kayla whispered.

"We need to find out what's going on before anything happens again," Tosh said urgently.

"Okay," I said. It was a bizarre case to say the least. "So, what d'you want me to do?"

"Well," Jack said lamely.

I raised an eyebrow, "Jack?"

"I dunno," he admitted, "We've done every scan imaginable and we haven't picked anything up."

"So, we've got to go to the hotel and ask around?" Kayla suggested.

"I thought of that," Jack nodded, "We need an undercover agent." He looked at Kayla with a grin.

She blinked. "Bloody hell, I've been here like, five minutes?" she said incredulously.

"Yup," Jack smiled, "Strange how things come up like that."

"Give me twenty minutes and I'll have a story for you, Kayla," Tosh said heading off to her computer and sitting down to type something.

"You sure it's safe to let her go alone?" I asked anxiously. Okay, so I was over-reacting probably. So sue me. "Like she said, she's only been here five minutes."

"You offering your company?" Jack asked with a small smirk. Sometimes I just want to hit him.

"Well," I said, shrugging.

"Right then, you're probably right. You go with her," Jack said. "You guys live together anyways. There's... chemistry between you."

Kayla blushed prettily and I kissed her cheek before dashing off to my workstation. I needed to find my PDA to download information on the hotel we were staying in and the case itself. But, typically, I'd lost the damn PDA.

Suddenly I heard Kayla groan loudly. Curious, I wandered over to her new workstation beside Gwen and looked over her shoulder. Torchwood Protocols. "Oh I remember that folder! Light bedtime reading," I laughed.

She wrinkled her nose, "I have better things to do at bedtime," she said without looking at me.

I grinned, "I know you do." Then I walked back to my desk to resume the PDA search and left Gwen to giggle.

"Found it!" I announced a few moments later, locating said PDA in the recycling box.

"And I've got you a story," Tosh said with a smile. We all crowded around looking interested.

"Do tell," Jack said sitting down on the side of her desk sipping his coffee.

"So, you're a married couple on holiday from a town in Scotland. That way anyone looking isn't gonna try tracing you to Cardiff," Tosh explained as she looked over some notes she'd made on the computer.

"Married?" I repeated with a small laugh.

"Yes," Tosh replied curtly. I glared at her. What the hell was her problem today? Honestly, women!

Jack smiled suddenly and stuck a hand in his pocket and drew out two rings and handing one to Kayla and I each. "Gotta look the part," he winked. I rolled my eyes.

"You're both doctors so that puts you in a position where they might go to you if they need any immediate medical help," Tosh carried on impatiently.

"So when we going?" I asked.

"Tonight," Jack said brightly, "We need this sorted out soon as."

And so we set to preparing. It'd been ages since I'd been on an undercover mission and I was really quite excited and nervous at the same time. Ianto helped me get kitted out with all the stuff I'd need. I still love the Torchwood gadgets we have. I'm used to most of them but this time I had to be covered in wires. I also had to change my watch for one that would track my movements. Great. So now everything I do is gonna be closely monitored. That's one thing I hate about undercover jobs. It feels like you're a test subject.

Within hours, we'd been home and packed our bags and were then on the bus on the way to the hotel. Jack didn't want to risk taking us in the SUV. It was time for a new adventure!


	24. Caught

After a journey in a cramped, noisy bus, it was a relief to breathe clean air outside the hotel. It was on the edge of the city and it was a very imposing building. It was a Victorian building that was very classy.

"Harkness better be paying for this one," I said as we walked up the drive carrying our suitcases. There were pristine bushes up either side of the frive all the way to the front door. I felt like I was going to meet the Queen or something.

"Nice place," Kayla said looking slighly awestruck. When we went to check in we had to take a second to take it in. Everything was so... well designed. It was definitly a place where rich people went.

One thing I thought was odd was the very up-market computers - the sort I'd only ever seen in Torchwood and in sci-fi films. "Fancy machines you got there," I said casually to the man behind the desk.

"Hmm," he nodded briskly, "Latest technology."

"Ah," I said glancing at Kayla. She was frowning slightly.

"And you would be Leon and Marian Hunter?" the man behind the desk asked curtly.

"Yes, yes we would," I said.

The man tapped a button the computer and smiled, "I'll show you to your room." He swept out from behind the desk and walked briskly up the grand set of stairs waiting for us for a moment. I picked up my suitcase and carried it along with me looking around.

Two floors up, we reached room two hundred and nine and came to a halt. The man handed me a key and bowed to us before walking away.

"Well he was a bundle of laughs," I said under my breath.

"Tell me about it," Kayla said rolling her eyes. I hoped I would get to fill in one of those "How Was Your Stay?" surveys at the end of this. I wanted to write in big capital letters "Staff need a personality transplant." They'd love me for that.

I unlocked the door to our room and went in. There was a large double bed in the centre of the room with elaborate sheets. The wallpaper was cream and lightly patterned. The grandeur was beginning to get to me a bit. It was all too much. "This place is just _too _clean," I muttered. It was beyond spotless. So much so that it was frightening.

"I know," Kayla agreed. We could both smell the bleached smell in the air. It had been poorly disguised by floral air-freshener. We shut the door and dumped our bags on the floor. Kayla jumped on to the bed while I set up the laptop.

"What you doing?" she asked.

"Telling Jack we're here and letting him have a look around," I said as the password protection screen came up. I typed in my username and password and waited for it to load. Two minutes later, the beaming face of Jack Harkness was on the screen.

"Hi!" Jack said brightly.

"Just saying we got here okay," I said looking around the room rather than it Jack. There was something about this place that just needed _looked _at. "Strange sort of place though. Bit too much of the forced politeness."

"Be careful with what you're saying," Jack warned, "They could be watching your room."

"Right," I said. Because that's not peadophillic at _all. _

_"_Hang on a sec," Jack said suddenly before vanishing off the screen.

I sighed and flopped on the bed on my stomach, kicking off my trainers. "What we even looking for?" I asked as she lay down on her back, hands behind her head.

"Dunno," she said, "Odd things?"

"Guess so," I laughed. "But I suppose, there's a lot you can do in a hotel." I smirked at her and she giggled.

"Oh?" she said with a challenging glint in her eyes. I nodded and then clambered on top of her and kissed her. She squeaked in surprise and kissed me back. I felt my mind racing as her hands ran through my hair.

I slipped my hands under her t-shirt and pulled it over her head and dumped it on the floor. I tugged mine off too and cast it aside before she tugged me closer again, pressing her mouth to mine. Her arms were around my waist, her hands just on the wasitband of my trousers.

"I love you," she whispered breathlessly in my ear. I was just about to reply but I never got the chance.

"Oi!" came a sudden bark from the laptop. I gasped in panic and looked around at the laptop and at the same time, losing my balance and falling on the floor. Kayla fell down with me. We landed in a heap on the floor and laughed.

"Hey, you two!" Jack's voice came from the laptop. I'd forgotten he was there.

"How long were you watching?" Kayla demanded, tugging on my t-shirt and jumping up on the bed again.

"I just thought I'd stop you before you upset the children," he said with a smile, not answering Kayla's question as Ianto appeared on screen too. I groaned. Jack had seen everything. He probably had it all on tape too, knowing him. Stupid bastard. I'd never live it down.


	25. Scared

**Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to update. Been busy. But this chapter was fun to write!**

* * *

Two weeks passed with very little happening. The only major thing was another woman dying under the same circumstances as the first. It was really frustrating because we weren't allowed into the scene. We couldn't expose ourselves as Torchwood operatives so we just had to pretend we were normal guests.

The team kept us up-to-date on any changes to the but there were very little. The staff in the hotel were tense and uptight - and rightly so. I'd be worried if they were all casual about women being murdered in their hotel.

I got up one morning and sighed. Another day of waiting around the hotel. We were both getting a bit fed up with it by then. There really wasn't very much to do. We'd used the swimming pool umpteen times - same with the gym. Hey, at least we were getting fit. Jack didn't want us going far from the hotel in case something happened. As far as we were aware, the killer was still there.

"I don't get this," I said, looking at the ceiling above our bed. I was thinking about the case and wondering how a person could explode. Seriously though, there must have been some sort of internal infection rupturing her internal organs.

"Me neither," Kayla mumbled. She pulled the quilt tighter around herself and buried her head in the pillow.

I looked at her for a moment, confused. "You okay?"

"Feeling a bit sick," she said quietly into the pillow.

"Oh," I said, less than helpfully.

"I'll be fine," she insisted, "You go get some breakfast."

"Right," I said clambering out of bed. I didn't know whether I should stay though. I should. But maybe she just wanted to sleep for a bit longer. "You'll be okay?"

"Yes," she said drowsily. I nodded, pulling on my jeans and a t-shirt. I'd get washed later, I was starving. I always want to eat more when I'm sitting around doing sod all.

"I'll bring you some toast or something," I promised as I headed out of the door and down the corridor.

I was queuing up to pay for my coffee and sausage sandwich when Gwen came running over to me. I stared at her. "What the...?"

"Come with me," she said, grabbing my arm. "Kayla's in trouble."

"She's... What?" I said, shocked. Was she really ill? Oh God, please let her be okay, I thought. I took off after Gwen to the room we were staying in. I nearly tripped up on the stairs and stumbled to stay upright.

When I burst into the room, I did a double-take. Kayla, in her night-dress, was lying on the bed in tears. Jack was kneeling beside her looking confused and downright terrified. There was a dead lady lying on the floor.

"Owen!" Kayla cried, smiling slightly through evident agony.

"Kayla?"

"She's having a baby, Owen," Jack told me bluntly.

I nearly choked.. "What? What... _mine?" _Oh. Please. No. How could she be having a baby? It was all illogical. She hadn't shown any signs of pregnancy in the last few weeks! But when she was there, lying on the bed, she actually _looked _pregnant. My mind was disintegrating in senseless mush.

"I'm guessing so," Kayla half-laughed as she winced in pain.

"I'll... Um," Jack mumbled, "Well, Owen, you're the doctor here."

My jaw dropped as I suddenly understood what he'd said, "Yeah, but I'm not a bloody midwife!" I panicked.

"Shouldn't we phone an ambulance?" Gwen asked tentatively, pulling out her mobile. Always the voice of reason, is our Gwen.

"Yeah..." Jack said distractedly before blinking and shaking himself slightly, "Yeah."

Gwen threw her phone at him, rolling her eyes. "Men."

"Hey!" I said, dazed. I hurried over to Kayla and took her hand. I felt stupid and useless. I'd never delivered a baby before! I still didn't understand she could be having a baby this early in pregnancy - I mean, a proper living baby!

The next half hour passed with me improvising to be a midwife. Kayla seemed to trust me and for that, I was grateful. Jack and Gwen held her hands the whole time and Jack looked like he was going to faint. I wished I could have taken a picture. Jack looking like that isn't something normal.

"C'mon Kayla, one more. Please, honey," I said urgently as she cried out in pain.

And then it was over. I was kneeling beside the bed, holding a little baby. It was all red and new and... I couldn't quite get my head around the fact that it was _my _baby.

"Owen," Kayla whimpered. Gwen smiled at me and took the baby and did whatever needed done.

I hurried over to Kayla and took her hand. "You did it! You did it, Kayla," I grinned, nearly in tears myself.

"But... I'm gonna... die," she whispered to me, holding my hand tightly.

"No!" I said firmly, "You're not!"

"The woman... she said I would," Kayla replied agitatedly. I looked at the dead body on the ground and winced. "She made the baby grow... It's what... she wants... She wants babies to... to send away with... aliens to build... build an empire."

I shook my head, "You're not going to die. The ambulance will be here soon. Promise."

She smiled weakly, "Okay."

"I love you," I said softly, kissing her forehead. I was dimly aware of our baby crying in the background.

"It's a girl, Owen," Gwen said, when she caught me looking at her, "Congratulations."

"Kayla, it's a girl," I smiled, kissing her again. Kayla just shut her eyes and smiled slightly. Her breathing was shallow and laboured. I hated seeing her like this. Damn Torchwood, we always seem to get hurt.

"That's the SUV outside," Jack said, looking out the window. "And Ianto and Tosh. Can someone go get them? Owen, can you? I want to speak to Kayla for a minute."

I glared at him. Bastard. What if _I _want to be with my girlfriend when she's not well? I sighed and looked at Kayla. "Alright. Kayla, I won't be long. Jack wants to speak to you."

She nodded quietly and I kissed her one last time before darting out of the room to find Tosh and Ianto. I tore down the stairs to the reception and hurtled out of the door.

"Owen?" Tosh said, looking concerned. I could see her staring at the blood on my hands.

"Oh. I had to play midwife," I garbled as I led them upstairs. I struggled to explain the situation to them. I didn't desperately want to include the "Oh, well, my girlfriend got attacked by an alien," bit. I should have been looking after her. It was then I remembered her attacker. She was lying dead on the floor in the hotel room.

"Are you alright, Owen?" Ianto asked, looking at me anxiously.

I paused on the stairs and held onto the banister. "I... I've got a daughter, Ianto, Kayla had a baby."

"Congratulations," Ianto smiled slightly, "But that scares you, doesn't it?"

He can be so observant sometimes. I hated talking about personal stuff like, let's see, talking about me and my feelings. Especially with Ianto. I bit my lip and nodded, "Yeah. Yeah, it's scares the shit out of me."

"You just need time to adjust to it. I mean, everyone else has about nine months to get used to the idea of having a kid. You had, well, you didn't have time to get used to that thought," Tosh said gently taking my arm.

I sighed, "Yeah. I guess. I'll just have to be there for Kayla." Kayla. I loved her more than anything in the world. And now we had a child. Oh. My. God.

* * *


	26. Happy

**Author's Note: So, the final chapter. I hope you've enjoyed this story, and thank you for being so supportive, particularly Lady Clark-Weasley of Books for reviewing every chapter. I will have another story up soon, but because I have exams in about seven weeks, I'm writing the whole story before posting. **

* * *

Kayla was terrified and I didn't know how I could help her. I dropped down on my knees beside her bed and held her hand. I felt tears pressing against my eyes but I was determined not to cry. I couldn't let Kayla see I was falling apart.

"Owen... Owen," she whispered fearfully.

"Kayla, I'm here," I told her gently, squeezing her hand. I felt so bloody helpless. I had no idea what to do. I'm a doctor and I wanted to make her stop hurting. I wanted to take away the pain but I couldn't do anything. "Kayla, I'm sorry," I whisper. I'm sorry I can't help her. I'm sorry I can't be a better boyfriend. "I dunno what to do... Kayla, don't die." I could feel myself panicking and starting to freak. I cursed myself for it though. Worrying wasn't helping anything.

"Owen, calm down," Jack said quietly as he put a hand on my shoulder. I looked at him for a moment feeling bleak hopelessness written all over my face. I looked around the room, noticing someone had hidden the body of the stupid bitch that had hurt Kayla.

"Owen, I love you," Kayla said slowly. I opened my mouth to say something but the words died in my head. I felt tears starting to drip down my cheeks and I mentally kicked myself again. I was being pathetic. I had to stay strong.

"Owen," she sobs.

"I'm still here," I told her.

"You'll look after her?" Kayla wanted to know, wide-eyed.

She was talking about the baby. Our baby. Our daughter, "Course I will!" I promise, kissing her hand tenderly. That little baby girl seemed about to become the only think I'd have left of the woman I loved. "You're gorgeous, you know that?"

"And you're the most handsome man I've ever met," she smiled slightly. I smiled back at her and then her eyelids were fluttering. She looked sleepy and I knew she was slipping away. And she was gone.

"Kayla!" I pleaded, "Please Kayla!" Then there were paramedics pushing me out of the way to get to her. I tried to fight my way back to her but someone was holding me back.

"C'mon, Owen, mate," Jack said kindly, his arms around me, holding me and pressing my head into his chest. I was sobbing and sniffling dismally. I felt pathetic but I kept squirming and trying to push Jack off me. I could tell he was in tears too and I eventually fell still in his arms and just howled like a wounded animal.

A few moments later, the paramedics were rushing Kayla out of the hotel to the ambulance and Jack was leading me along too. He said we could go too. He said Kayla was still alive. He said she was just unconscious. I didn't understand anything I was hearing.

Just before Jack and I got in to the ambulance with Kayla, I stopped to take my little girl from Gwen. I wanted to hold her. She was the closest I could get to Kayla. Gwen had wrapped up the baby in one of my hoodies to keep her warm. I smiled weakly as I took my daughter in my arms and held her tight to my chest. There were still tears gushing down my cheeks but I found myself smiling. There was something special about holding my little girl in my arms.

Jack led me in to the back of the ambulance and I sat in the seat nearest to Kayla and talked and talked and talked. I didn't know if she could hear me, but I had to talk to her. I told her every detail of our daughter; how she had the same shaped eyes as Kayla, and my nose. It's true when people say they can see parts of theid parents and grandparents in their kids. I just hope she doesn't grow up to be like my mum.

When we got to the hospital, a nurse took my baby away from me and I hate the pathetic little whimper that escaped me then. Jack put an arm around my shoulders and promised me it would be okay. Sometimes, I think Jack's just like the Dad I don't have. My Dad died when I was a kid, but since I found Jack? Well, if he found out I'd said that, he would probably just laugh. Or be embarrassing.

Turned out Kayla was in a coma. I stared at the doctor when he told us that and felt myself floundering in confusion. But at least she was alive.

"Mr Harper?" the nurse probed as I sat by Kayla's bedside with Jack and just held her hand.

"Huh?"

"Your daughter-."

"Is she okay?" I demanded at once.

"She's fine, she's sleeping," she told me with a sympathetic smile, "Perfectly healthy little girl you've got there. She's beautiful. Congratulations."

"Thank you," I mumbled, smiling, "When she wakes up, can you bring her here?"

"Certainly, Mr Harper," she nodded.

"Thanks," I said, looking back at Kayla.

"I reckon you can take your daughter home tomorrow," the nurse said smiling happily at me.

I felt horror-struck. "But... But, we weren't expecting a baby! We haven't got anything to look after her!" I babbled.

Jack took my arm again and whispered, "Ianto's on it. Relax."

"'Kay," I said uselessly. "Alright."

I fell asleep around four in the morning. I was too restless and upset. I stayed in the hospital to be there for Kayla and my daughter. I couldn't leave them. If Kayla woke up, I'd want to be there for her. I only slept for two or three hours. I woke up when I fell of my chair. It was a shock to wake up lying on a hospital floor. We were in a ward and I could see a couple of other devoted family members sitting around sleeping beside their loved ones.

I sighed and clambered back up onto my seat. Damn hospital plastic chairs. I watched the life support machine beeping away contentedly and bit my lip. This was the only thing that was keeping my Kayla alive. She seemed so fragile and small, even though I knew she was one of the strongest people I knew. I took her hand and whispered into the early morning gloom, "Please, Kayla, wake up."

But she didn't. I kept hoping every second that she'd wake up. And those seconds turned to minutes, those minutes to hours, hours to days and days to weeks. Jack and the team were great with our daughter. She hadn't been named yet because I was so determined that Kayla would wake up and we could decide together. And if she didn't wake up... I'd call her Kayla, but I wasn't going to think about that.

I barely left Kayla's side the whole time. Jack brought my little girl along regularly and she stayed with me and Kayla nearly all day.

* * *

So here I am. Looking back, I remember thinking that it would just be another case – typical of Torchwood but now it seems like so much more.

I'm sitting in a hospital now, holding her hand and I can't think what to do. I don't know what to say anymore and I'm scared. I can't lose her! I know I've only known her a matter of months but I still can't imagine my life without her. She really showed me how to live again and I'm so grateful. But I'm scared I'm going to lose her.

"Mr Harper, I think you should seriously consider letting her go," the doctor says, as he sat beside me.

I glare at him, furious. "I can't do that to her. She'll be alright."

"Please, consider-."

"Dammit, no!" I snarl heatedly at him. The doctor sighs and gets to his feet. I watch him leave the ward. I hated him. He wanted me to give permission to let her die! How bloody dare he? I sat by her bed for a good hour in silence. I didn't know what to say.

"Kayla, please wake up?" I beg. "Kayla, Kayla, please!"

Suddenly, her heart monitor is beeping madly. "Help!" I yell in a panic. Then the room is swarming with doctors and nurses and I'm shunned out of the way. I stand beside the curtain that's pulled around her bed and bite my lip. She'll be okay, she has to be.

"Owen?" I hear Jack's voice behind me, "What's happening?" I turn and see his head poking around the curtain and I blink helplessly. I shake my head and shrug. I tremble slightly as H hear the doctors bustling around trying to shock her in to consciousness.

"We're losing her!" the nurse announced as she watched the heart monitor.

"No!" I whimper and before I know it, Jack's hugging me again.

"She'll be okay," Jack promises, "That's why I came. The alien bit in her brain, you know, the bit that makes her change? It's countering whatever that bitch put in her to make her have the baby. She's going to be alright, Owen. the last vitim exploded, remember? That never happened to Kayla. She's going to be alright."

"No!" comes another, terrified voice. My mind goes into shock and my knees just about give way beneath me for a moment. Kayla! One of the doctors tries to hold her down while she attempts to sit up. Gathering my senses I babble, "You're... Oh, Kayla!" I throw myself out of Jack's grip and hug her tight. The doctors are a bit surprised to see my flying out of nowhere but I have to hold her. I have to be near her. "I thought... Oh Kayla I thought you were never gonna wake up! I thought I was going to lose you! I, oh fuck, I…"

"Now, Mr Harper, give her some space," the nurse chides as she tries to pull me back. I ignore her and cling to Kayla, bubbling like a little kid. He bury my head in her shoulder and kiss her neck.

"What's going on?" she whispers.

The nurse answers the question, "Honey, you were in a coma." Then she tries to tug my sniffling self away from my girlfriend, "Mr Harper, _please!" _I reluctantly let her go and knelt down beside her bed.

"What?" she mumbles, confused. "I'm meant to be dead though!"

I embarrass myself (again) with a stupid hiccoughing sob and bite my lip.

"You've got yourself a good one here," the nurse smiles as she looks at me, "He's been here nearly all the time. And baby too."

"Baby? Oh... Yeah," she looks confused for a moment before remembering. It must be so hard for her to take in.

"I… Kayla they were gonna turn off the life support," I say uselessly before hugging her close again.

"I'll give you two a minute then," the nurse says as she wanders away from us with the other doctors. I'm glad to have her to myself for a moment. So much has happened recently and I'm unbelievably glad that she's okay. I love her. I really, really love her and I can't bear to be away from her. It's surprising how someone who can cause me so much pain, but still so much happiness. I guess this is life and, if I'm honest, I'm happy with it right now.


End file.
